By now every last drop of sleepiness had gone out of the lioness. She was ready to GO and didn't think she could listen to the Professor for much longer. Okay okay, pet it 'surely', don't die, yeah, same rules as always. Nothing new to her. Just when it seemed she'd actually have to wait patiently they were given the go ahead. Lex watched Cassia petting the granian and did the same, surely but impatiently. The horse might have been impatient too so it was fine.

Seeing as Cassia would be the one holding the reins she didn't have a problem letting her climb up first. Only thing she minded was that this was a race and Cassia would molly coddle the horse all the way to the Grounds Keeper's hut. Nope. She wouldn't let it happen.

"Don't rush me or you'll be riding alone and I'll hope you fall." Not really, never, that would hurt and it'd be her fault for thinking it in the first place. But of course the snake already knew she didn't mean it. No need to add an apology or an explanation afterwards. Alexa gave the creature a final pat just to be sure then heaved herself up on the saddle just behind her bestfriend. No where to hold on to but her waist, mmkay, here's to hoping Cassia was holding on firmly to those reins otherwise they'd both be tumbling off this horse today and we couldn't very well have that. Nope. They had a race to win and people were already on their way.

"Hold on tight!" Lex said before giving a gentle kick at the granian's side to get it moving. The rune chanting would happen in a bit, they had to get it speeding up first.

Sitting up there on the horse's back was one of the greatest thing the snake had experienced this year. And this one was with a various new experiences. But this one topped them all! She only needed to imagine she was on a hippogriff's back and one of her dreams would be crossed out from the list. But maybe she'd want to really do that one instead of imagining the thing. So nope. She was on a horse and this could serve as a preparation for her dream when she got to ride a Hippogriff.

Now, was Lex up already?

"No, you won't," Cassia twisted around grinning at her bestie. Knowing Lex, Cassia was sure that if there was a chance for one of them to fall off the lioness would make sure it was herself. Gryffindors were like that. It was kind of stressful to know how much it'd be in Cassia's case. She didn't operate very well under stress. But surely she cared about her bestfriend so she grabbed the reins tightly to assure that both of them will be safe and hopefully won't fall off.

There was also the fact that it kind of tickled to be held around the waste. The fifth-year banished the childish thoughts and ordered herself to act like the fifteen-year old she's supposed to be.

"Here we go!" She cheerfully announced adding another gentle kick to Lex's. And the horse started trotting forward. "Okay. A smooth start just till I get the hang of this," she murmured to herself rather than Lex. She was going to need a bit of time before she let the horse go on full speed. That if they ever reached that level with her holding the reins.

Feeling a bit surer, she nudged the horse again with her foor urging it to pick up its pace. Absent-mindedly she chewed on her lower lip and held the reins firmly that her knuckles turned white.

"I would." Lex said, sticking her nose in the air and putting on her best snobbish voice before breaking into a grin of her own. She had to make a conscious effort to not wiggle around too much. Cassia was having some kind of moment with this horse riding thing and she didn't want the possibly distracted girl losing her balance.

For now Lex nodded at Cassia muttering about the slow trotting. As much as Lex wanted to lose her patience she couldn't. If Cassia did get the hang of this they'd both be in for it because she was the one with the reigns and Lex's only support on this horse happened to be her.

"You might wanna speed up in a bit. Those rocks won't jump themselves and the granian will have better luck taking it at a run."

Just some helpful advice before she got to her part of this team work. Making sure the runes stayed working by reinforcing them. Lex drew her wand from it's holster once more. "dagaz dagaz dagaz dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh d d d a a a g g g a a a z z z du da di de do dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh odh edh idh adh udh od ed ud ad ud d d d a a a g g g a a a z z z." Her voice was in a steady hum almost and she watched the glowing runes. Granted, she wasn't sure what this one was doing as opposed to Cassia's but she'd be chanting that one next so it didn't matter.

No really, they could go faster.

Good thing they weren't arguing anymore because that would have been distracting for both of them. And they weren't going to ride a granian together every day so this was special and the least they could do was enjoy it and let it be one of the many memories they had together. It was a nice try from Lex but it didn't fool Cassia even before the grin. To be honest it felt very good knowing that the person you were riding with, wasn't going to push you off the horse or hope that you fall. She had enough to worry about like the horse's moodiness. What if he decided to sit and rest now!
And of course Lex had to remind her of the rocks. Eeh. Yeah those. She didn't forget about them. lies.

There were bushes too. She found herself wishing they were riding in a desert. There was only sand there!! How awesome would that have been! "Mmkay, a bit faster," she muttered to the horse kicking it simultaneously. And faster it went causing the snake to lean forward and grab even tighter for dear life
What was Lex doing?

Oh, yeah, right, the chanting thingy. It alaramed Cassia at first that she thought she wasn't able to understand her bestie talking. Turned out her brain still functioned. Good to know.

Sucking in a breath as the horse got even faster, she gulped and croaked. "Prepare yourself, we miiiight jump." she sounded more confident that she was which probably was good.

Was it her or was the horse getting increasingly faster? Lex wasn't about to believe that it was Cassia's doing seeing as the girl had done nothing since she told her they needed to go faster. Must have been the horse's own intuition. It wouldn't let itself trip just because no one told him to avoid the obstacles ahead. She finished up the Dagaz rune, chanting it one more time as they rode before Cassia actively took part in making the creature go faster. Lex clung tighter with one hand still trying to keep balance while using her wand on the runes.

At the warning she changed runes she was chanting just in case the other one was in charge of making sure jumps happened. You never knew with these things.

"I'm ready. Thurisaz thurisaz thurisaz th th th th th th th th th thur thar thur ther thor thu tha thu the tho th th th th th th th th th..." Her eyes were steady on the bushes that rose a bit higher than the rocks she'd been warning about. Whether Cassia was actually capable of getting them over while she chanted or not, she'd find out in the next minute....couple seconds...now.

Her heart legit skipped a beat the moment the granian's feet left the floor but that was more from the thrill of the first jump than anything else.

It was almost like the horse was showing off as it hit the floor, not slowing even a little. More rune chanting. There were other things ahead she was sure. "Thurisaz thurisaz thurisaz th th th th th th th th th thur thar thur ther thor thu tha thu the tho th th th th th th th th th."

What would happen if she stopped chanting and the wings came back out? Could they go for a flight instead???? The Gryffindor quieted down.

She really liked the rocks more than the bushes. No really. Could they have them back? Stupid bushes getting higher meaning the horse had to jump. Lex didn't seem to be worried about that fact as she was chanting right before it happened and the snake couldn't hear anything that showed worrisome or hesitation. The Gryffidor's voice didn't falter. That made Cassia more confident and at ease. The granian surely jumped lots of times and it wasn't a big deal. She only needed to hold on tighter.

And so did Lex. The snake squirmed and fought back a giggle as her bestfriend's grip tightened. Ticklish area please. Immediately, the fifth-year shifted Lex's hand upward a notch. Now that was safe. It would be in no one's best if Cassia lost balance because she was laughing or tickled. Especially when the horse was jumping right NOW!

Instinctively, she shut her eyes but enjoyed the feeling of being lifted higher then landing smoothly. An enormous squeak threatened to bubble out of the back of her throat but the snake managed to contain most of it that only a faint squeak sounded and could be heard. That was awesome!

Her eyes snapped open and she loosened her grip a little bit allowing blood to flow through her white-knuckled fingers. "Now, wasn't that something!?" she told to the now-chanting Lex. The girl was doing her job very well.

Tugging the reigns to the side, the horse swiveled into the direct direction of the hut as Cassia was hoping it would. See, she was doing her job like she was supposed to, too, yeah?!

But now the lioness was quiet. Something shouldn't happen in similar occasions when ideas would be crowding her mind. Ideas about horses that had wings. "SO! she blurted out loudly hoping to cut the train of thoughts of her companion. "How long do you think will it take us to get there?" random and pointless question. Just for the sake of talking.

Kace nodded and climbed off his horse. Then he said, "Of course Maika!" and then he held out his two hands for her foot to be put on and then he boosted her up. "There you go." he said once he saw her safely onto the horse. "See it isn't so bad right?" he asked her.

He looked at Maika who was the one riding the horse and understanding the assignment.

"Okay we gotta race to the groundskeeper's hut. I think we can manage that." he smiled to the first year. "Now what runes do u think we need for this race?" he asked her curiously asking for her opinion.

"Well, climb on and steer, and I'll worry about the runes, okay?" She smiled brightly to him. "Just keep watch and I'll take care of things." She concentrated on the runes again. Isa to keep them calm, Ansuz for communication, and Gebo for harmony between the three of them.

s he mounted the horse, she concentrated on the runes already. "Isa isa isa...i i i i i i i i i...i i i i i i s s s s s s...i i i i i i i i i...ansuz ansuz ansuz...aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw...aw aw aw aw aw aw s s s s s s...aw aw aw aw aw aw...aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw...gebo gebo gebo...gu ga gi ge go...gub gab gib geb gob...og eg ig au ur...g a a a f f f f f..."

Rubbing the horse's muzzle absentmindedly, Alice started speaking again, eyes on the saddle runes. "You want to lead him? I think he likes you better. And I probably canter ride as well as you can." LOL, another pun. She was on fire today, did Nigel know?

No, but really, she wasn't naturally talented with animals. Even though Botros said it was similar to riding a broomstick, the sixth year felt quite unsure of herself. Alice wouldn't have normally trusted leading to anyone else, but if she tried getting Nightmare to do what she wanted, they probably weren't going to end up finishing the activity. "I can handle the chanting if you want."

It seemed like Nightmare liked them, though, because he was already bending down and waiting for them to climb up onto his saddle. Alice hopped on first, but she scooted back and left space for Nigel at the front. Leader and all, right?

Now the ultimate question of who would want to lead the horse through the obstacles. They both did not look like they really wanted to lead the horse or were big fans of horses.It being akin to riding a broomstick made it sound better than what Nigel originally thought. Okay, he would do it. Lead the horse that is.

"Okay, I will lead Nightmare ".

He would not responded to the well subtlety placed pun there. She was on fire and Nigel did not want to add any more flame to it. He was being to think puns were evil. He nodded to Alice when asked if she could do the galdr chanting stuff. He did not really care, as usual. Nightmare was already waiting for them to get on and he watched Alice get on and leave space for him in the front. Alright no time to think about how awkward this is and stuff. Nigel got on Nightmare and saddled up. If that was a thing.

Once Nightmare was up. Nigel started to lead him down the path finding it was terribly similar to riding a broom. Just weirder.

And.....Yes this was awkward.

Nigel didn't even acknowledge her excellently placed pun, and her face fell a teeny bit. What? Did he not appreciate her punniness? Maybe Alice was overdoing it a little bit, but she was trying so hard to come up with these, didn't he know? It took effort and stuff. He should have been honored to hear them. Yep.

Attempting to keep her thoughts pun centered as to avoid thinking about how awkward this was, the sixth year loosely held onto Nigel so she wouldn't fall off. But she did scoot a teensy bit backwards on the saddle, because... yeah. Awkward and stuff.

"Pond coming up," she voiced, just in case Nigel hadn't noticed, which he probably had. "But I bet we can get pasture it." Haha. Hah. Geddit, Nigel?

Alice shut up and tried to remember her Galdrs.

Did she want him to acknowledge that she was becoming the expert on horse puns because Nigel would tell her that if she want. Did not seem like she would stop anytime soon. Which left Nigel with no other choice then to join in on the puns. This was very foalhardy.

"Yes Alice, I herd you"

HeHe Geddit. So a small little pond was up ahead. It did not seem like a problem. All they had to do was jump on over it. Now only if Nigel knew how to do that. So he guessed that all he had to do was like a broom and pull up.

Nigel tried that and it actually work, what do you know. "I think it is time for the runes on the saddle. They won’t be there furlong"

Bam another pun.

Grinning when Nigel finally jumped on the pun bandwagon with her, Alice attempted to remember what the Galdrs for the runes were. They had chosen... Sowilo and Laguz, right? One for positive energy and success and all, the other for calming down their granian. But Nightmare seemed to be okay at the moment, so Alice tried for Sowilo instead.

"I mare may not," pun, hello, "remember these Galdrs correctly." Just so he knew.

"Sowilo sowilo sowilo s s s s s s s s s s s s o o o l l l su sa si se so sul sal sil sel sol us as is es os si se su sa su s s s s s s s s s." Was that right? Alice felt Nightmare pull up as Nigel guided him, and she kept a tight hold onto the Ravenclaw for support, but it seemed that they'd made it over the pond.

Were they close? This was uncomfortable. She couldn't even think of anymore puns.

Nigel led Nightmare gently for Alice to do the sowilo thing as easy as possible. Don't want Nightmare to start galloping away or anything like that. You know that moment where it could not possibly get anymore awkward then it already is. But then it does. Yeah...it seems that is happening right now. But the puns were helping at least.

Good old horse puns.

All Nigel could see ahead was a bush and it seemed like it was jump overable. If that was a word. But the jumping just made their situation more weird. So yeah they led Nightmare around the bush. They should be almost done right?

She was patient while Nigel directed the granian around the bush, keeping her eyes on the Sowilo rune attached to the saddle. Alice noticed how its glow brightened after she'd recited the Galdr, but the magic seemed to be unsettling Nightmare, and he was acting a bit edgier than before. It wasn't difficult to hear the noises of protest coming from the horse's mouth.

"Is he okay?" The sixth year bent down a bit, trying to peer around Nigel's side to see the horse and nearly falling off int he process. Whoops.

There was a boulder ahead, and she was sure Nigel had it all under control, but with their creature freaking out... Alice patted the horse's flank as reassuringly as possible, tentative to use another Galdr in fear of upsetting him more.

... but it would calm him down, right?

Nigel was daydreaming a little. It happened when he got bored. So when Alice asked if Nightmare was okay. Nigel was a little confused. "I think he is. We only have to get pasture one more obstacle thing then it is the Hut from the looks of it."

Nigel sidestepped on boulder with Nightmare before thinking that it was almost time for another rune. "You think Raidho would work or Sowilo again?"

Now the only thing left was the Groundkeeper hut. No extra points for them. Actually riding a horse was an achievement enough.

Kace understood and climbed on. He was responsible for the steering. He picked up the steers and held them confidently. He didn't wanna give the horse any reason to fear him. It seemed comfortable with both of them. This was a new experience. He never have done this before. Well yeah he did ride horses on the farm but never a magical horse. He steered the horse with its reins a little to the right and headed toward to the ground keepers house.

The horse was riding a little slow. He kicked lightly on the horses side to get the speed going. He saw a huge rock and tried to avoid it. He narrowly missed it. Phew......"Alright let's try to get you a little more faster." Kace told the horse. Then he kicked a little bit more and it started to pick up the pace.

Then he looked back at Maika and she seemed to be doing alright.

Alexa had now become noticeably quiet, her eyes on the horses back, staring intently in the hopes of seeing the wings popping out unexpectedly...or not so unexpectedly considering it was exactly what she was hoping would happen. No such luck though. The wings were still hidden away thanks to that spell. The Professor should have given them some idea of how long it would last.

Lex was so fixated with the wings and the jumping that she didn't hear Cassia's initial comment but then the girl was being loud and brought all of the Gryffindor's attention to her.

"It shouldn't be much longer! Just around there I think." She said pointing out in the direction they should be headed in. Almost there and they hadn't done a lick of flying. This wouldn't do at all. "How long do you think it'll take for the wings to spring back out? Think we could wait for them if I stopped chanting???" Kinda like what she was doing now in case Cassia didn't notice. No need for chanting, that was probably what was holding the wings in place in the first place.

She looked to the runes on the saddle again. They were unfortunately still with a little glow to them. Dangit, they didn't have all day for this stuff to fade.

How much trouble would she get in for accidentally kicking a few of the runes off? Would that do the trick??

"Laguz." That was the one on their saddle, right? Alice checked just to make sure, almost missing her partner's pun. And she had just done Sowilo, so maybe it was time to re-invoke the other one. It took a bit of brain wracking for her to recall this Galdr, but she'd already said it once to get it on the saddle anyway, so it was fresh in her mind.

"laguz laguz laguz," she started. "l l l l l l l l l lu la li ke lo lug lag lig leg log ul al il el ol lo le li la lu l l l a a a g g g u u u l l l l l l l l l." The rune stone immediately started to glow, seemingly calming Nightmare down a whole lot. Alice relaxed a bit, wiggling around on the horse's back.

K, Nigel. Lead the way. "Whinny we gonna reach the hut?"

Haha. Hah. Okay. She was done. Really.

"Almost There"

And then Nigel lead the way. Past another boulder and basically all the way to their destination. The rune worked exactly as it was suppose to and he of course did not miss the last pun of this pun adventure. He should use that.

Nigel patted Nightmare because this horse was pretty awesome for not throwing them off for any reason what so ever. Well look at that they made to to the hut finally. Nigel clumsily got off Nightmare, Broomstick was easier, and said "Well that was a Pun adventure"

The only way to end this was with a pun of course.

It was really cool! This riding thing. And although she at first was a bit conscious about the speed, she now enjoyed it. It was much more fun. Not to say that aloud though. Lex would have suggestions ready. The snake was content with this speed and the occasional jumps the horse made to get past bushes that couldn't be turned around. Which had her grab tightly and brace her body and sometimes leaning to the opposite side. If she lost balance while the horse turned, both her and Lex would fall. Let's not do that.

Another turn passed safely and now her attention was back to the lioness behind her. "I don't think they will," the fifth-year killed the idea immediately. Talk about crushing hopes. "The runes are strong," Yup, wasn't this the point of this lesson? Mhhm. Sorry, Alexa.

"And…shouldn't you be chanting?" she asked risking for half a minute to look back at the fourth-year. Just to send a curious look right into her eyes. Oh, it was all written on her bestfriend's face. Good thing Cassia was here to terminate any ideas. Or probably a bad thing for the Gryffindor.

Looking back ahead, the blond squinted spotting the hut in the distance. She eyed the granain from above and wondered if she could risk getting faster. Well, almost everyone was there already, so maybe they needed to get there, too. After hesitation, she finally leaned forwards and gave the horse an encouraging light kick.
It's totally okay if the granain didn't feel like obeying.

As she continued to cast the runes repeatedly she couldn't help but overhear Mo's very sweet conversation he was having with Alexei. The redhead couldn't help but smile to herself as she went back tow waving her wand, this time repeating, "dagaz dagaz dagaz dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh d d d a a a g g g a a a z z z du da di de do dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh odh edh idh adh udh od ed ud ad ud d d d a a a g g g a a a z z z.."

She eyed the saddle as the runes continued to glow, relieved that it seemed to be working so far. Boy, she really hoped that she wouldn't fall off from the saddle, or worry about Alexei breaking free from Mo's grip. Everything was going well for the trio.

Alright! Now to just keep things up. Ansuz for communication, Gebo for harmony between them, Raidho for a safe journey, and Thurisaz for protection and defense. "Ansuz ansuz ansuz...aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw...aw aw aw aw aw aw s s s s s s...aw aw aw aw aw aw...aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw aw...gebo gebo gebo...gu ga gi ge go...gub gab gib geb gob...og eg ig au ur...g a a a f f f f f...raidho raidho raidho...r r r r r r r r r...ru ra ri re ro...rudh radh ridh redh rodh...or er ir ar ur...r r r r r r r r r...thurisaz thurisaz thurisaz...th th th th th th th th th...thur thar thur ther thor...thu tha thu the tho...th th th th th th th th th..."

She concentrated completely on the runes as she counted on Kace to steer, not even watching where they were going. She held onto him so she could concentrate more on casting than staying on.

Alexa was content to watch for the wings popping back out but she was missing out on all the scenery and that was almost killing the ride for her. Was there no way to speed this process along? A counter-spell of sorts? If there was she didn't know it and ten galleons says Cassia didn't either. What were the chances the horse would know....? Food for thought. Thought that was interrupted by the mother of all fun suckers. Gee thanks Cass. Lex made faces at her. "Runes can only be so strong. I'm a fourth year, for all you know my runes are inferior to yours and will be more likely to probably just fall off." As insulting as that would have been, she found herself liking the idea. Wings, hello!!!

And then she had to go and bring up the chanting that Lex was trying to avoid in the hopes of seeing said wings. Boy, the snake was right on the ball today, wasn't she? Picking up on every little thing there was to notice? One day, Lex would give her a lesson in mischief....before she graduated....soon...tomorrow? After lunch, yup. Couldn't wait too long.

"Yeah yeah yeah, maybe my mouth got tired of saying the same thing over and over. You know how I feel about repetition." It irked her, just as much as stupidity did. "Dagaz dagaz dagaz dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh d d d a a a g g g a a a z z z du da di de do dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh dh odh edh idh adh udh od ed ud ad ud d d d a a a g g g a a a z z z."

Might as well, these wings were getting them no where any time soon. They wouldn't even bother trying to fight against the spell for the sake of the Gryffindor.

And there was the hut they were fast approaching. It was somewhat disappointing that the ride had ended, especially considering things but the Professor wasn't here yet, right? They could still try finite, then get a quick flight, yeah?? Cassia?? Even after the horse came to a stop near the others she made no moves to get off. It could happen.

Botros entrusted the watching-over-the-students task to the groundskeeper, it was, afterall, why he'd invited the man to stay today. Meanwhile, the old professor was leaning heavily on his cane as he made his way down to the hut, the final destination of this Granian race. He took a path close to the one the students were using on their horses, just to watch them and their glowing runes in action. Such a cute and fun scene!

By the time he made it down there, half the students had arrived but he saw Mr. Summers and Mr. Potter get there first. With a wide grin, he clapped each one of them on their shoulders and announced, "Mr. Summers and Mr. Potter! You're great horse and rune masters, congratulations! Five extra points to each one of you." Patpatpat. "Race is over! Thank you for being such good sport today. I hope you enjoyed this lesson as much as I did." He always enjoyed his lessons, but this one was outside in the fresh air! "Class is dismissed, you don't have to worry about the Granians, the groundskeeper and I will tend to them now. Good luck in your exams, and have a good summer." Smiles for everyone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Team ronmione

After dusting himself off a bit, and trying to act like nothing happened, Tag said, "HEY PROFESSOR BOTROS! I promised Mr. Horse over here, that if he got us to the hut, I'd give him a lady friend. Do you mind bringing over a lady friend for him as his reward?" No shame. Also, would this have to be OKed by the groundskeeper?

Uh-huh, uh-huuuh. Botros wanted to roll his eyes at the Gryffindor boy. So, Mr. Kildare fixed his horse with a date? Already? What even. "You can be my guest and find out which one is female and which is male, Mr. Kildare." Because Botros didn't find this a pleasant task. "I think it worked perfectly well, though. Promising your Grani a girl in exchange of speed. It didn't put you in first place, but second place is good too." Botros grinned at the boy.

Also, why wasn't Ms. Cambridge getting OFF the horse yet? Botros kept an eye on her cautiously.

ooc: - Class is over! Thank you for playing with me, y'all great. <3