DYING!

He was DYING!

His pincers clicked rapidly as he lunged at the attackers only to find himself SPEARED like a flobberworm that had just been put on a fisherman's hook. "I told you humans it was not safe to be in here. But did you listen? NO! Did you find that crazy lady? NO! Did you get ME attacked? YES!" He felt himself getting weaker and it was getting difficult for him to breath. Collapsing to the ground he felt his body start to go numb.

He was DYING!

Pulling herself up off the ground, the other huge spider clicked her pincers even louder. "If you humans value your lives at all you will get out of here and never come back." If they were lucky they would be able to make it out alive before her hundreds of children had them for a late night snack. She then eyeballed the large man on the ground (Leo). She started walking towards him. He would do just fine for her snack.

It was hard to keep focus on anything with the angry spiders, two injured people and panic from each party. Fuller scooted Leo further away from the acromantulas as they threatened them, but he could tell the female spider was rather upset that who he assumed was her mate... was dying. She was looking at Leo like he was dinner and Piers was not okay with that.

"Confringo!" he shouted, pointing his one at one of her legs. Enough to hurt her and knock her back so they could get out of here. Then he helped Leo stand as much as he could and started to lead him out of the forest.

"Come on, let's go! Do you have him?" he shouted towards the girls. Cuz dey gotta get outta thur.

That spider sounded so very angry. Which wasn't good at all. Cassia kept her gaze focused on Victor, he looked in pain and just by looking at him it made her feel uneasy. Poor person. To think that they all could have been as badly injured as him and the librarian was a terrifying thought. She wanted to check on Mr.Kitridge badly but she knew she had to keep her focus since she had Victor levitated. Better not make him fall on the ground they couldn't afford to injury them more.

WAS THE SPIDER GONNA EAT THEM?

Her wand was shaking now because her hand was shaking. Correction, her entire body was shaking. She didn't want to be a spider's snack. Nope. She wanted to graduate and stuff. Taking NEWTs sounded like a very good thing now. Could she live till she took them?!

Fuller's voice helped make her snap out of the grim thoughts that threatened to consume her. She nodded at his question but then again he couldn't see her. How smart. "Yes, we've got him," She said sounding more sure and brave than she was feeling.

Oh, Professor was moving, Cassia slid a hand under Victor's head to make sure it didn't jerk to the sides or bump into a tree while they RAN out of here. "We're right behind you!" She told the charms man. WAIT FOR US!

Bay could hear Cassia and jasmine around him and someone was touching him but he was just trying to keep his screaming to a minimum but all of a sudden he was up in the air and he had a blanket on him. His collar bone felt really tight trying to look over he saw blood and slobber and his collar bone looked huge. To huge in fact where it started to freak him out "my shoulder!! " he screamed as he felt. Like he was moving.

The movement didn't help as he started to feel sick. What was going on he heard a lot of telling and he heard heavy foot steps and all he could think was that these creatures were coming back to finish the job. The scratch on his leg was barely anything compared to the shoulder.

Uhhhhggg he wasn't feeling well at all.

The we're in BIG trouble. One spider was dying and the other looked ripe for revenge. It was moving closer and looked like it could make a meal out of all of them. Poor Bay was starting to panic and Jasmine was sure that he was in considerable pain. "Stay calm", Jasmine kept saying to herself. She took Bay's hand and said, "Hang in there"

Jasmine saw that Cassia was struggling to levitate Bay and hold his head. "I'll support his head while you levitate him. Let me know if you get tired and we can switch......and Cassia, we've got to move it!" Trying to hold Bay as steady as possible, Jasmine tried to run as fast as the situation would allow.

Carrying Leo wasn't going to work. He could move faster that way and wouldn't put any strain on the librarian. He wasn't even sure if the man was conscious, but he was too panicked to check. He needed to get everyone to the hospital wing. Before Piers could levitate him, he used his wand to send a brief warning patronus to the Healer so she would know they were coming. Then he levitated him and continued to race back to the castle.

"I sent a patronus to the Healer Tillstorm, we need to get there as fast as we can." See, this was why they needed to be able to apparate on school grounds. Maybe he'd start a petition in the next staff meeting, eh?

And with that, Piers led the students out of the forest and up the grounds to the castle.

OOC: everybody go post here! you don't need to check in first.

The acromantula could already taste the snack it was about to devour as she started to run towards the man on the ground. Her pincers clicked together eagerly as her massive body descended upon the fallen man and took her first bite...

Reeling back, the acromantula let out a shrill ear piecing scream rivaled to that of a banshee as one of her thick front legs was blown off by the spell cast by the human (Piers). Her pincers had only manage to close around her snack's hair, resulting in the great spider to do nothing more but rip a large patch of hair from the man's head as she stumbled backwards.

How DARE he!? HOW DARE THE HUMANS TREAT HER THIS WAY?! THEY were the ones that had begged for her and her mate's guidance. THEY had asked to be lead deeper into the forest despite the acromantulas' warning. THEY were the ones who had antagonized the monsters dwelling here. THEY were the ones who were to blame for her mate's death. THEY had now caused her great harm and denied her the meal she was rightfully entitled to. She would not forget this, humans. Never.

Her shrieks of agony echoed throughout the forest as she retreated back into the shadows and vanished from sight.

This icy, frigid, snow-filled virulent winter is beginning to esclate toward blizzard levels with a polar vortex wind chill suddenly sweeping the grounds on top of the already high snow drifts. Brrr! Best get indoors now before the snow covers you to your frostbitten nose! It looks like Hogwarts may already be in the process of being snowed in....

OOC: All grounds threads will shortly be locked in light of this snowpocalypse. You have about 24 hours to finish your RPs and get in the castle!

Now the group was moving over to the Forbidden Forest. Ronnie had remembered going here only once in her seven years at Hogwarts...and she had gotten kicked out pretty quickly, so she hadn't gotten a chance to see the whole thing. Back then, she had been so curious, but now, she had a teensy feeling of uneasiness.

But it was still kind of exciting!

The red head, bundled in her snow suit, began fiddling with her dragon hide gloves as she waited for the rest of the group to catch up to the forest. There were quite a bit of people, which she was thankful for. More wands to protect eachother-

Wait a moment. Wands. Wand. She frantically felt the pocket of her snowsuit for her wand where she had placed it, but it wasn't there. She quickly looked all around her. She was positive she had took it, she remembered putting it into the pocket of the snowsuit Bryce had brought. Maybe it fell out somewhere? She began poking around the forest where she had came in, worriedly searching all over the snow covered forest floor.

Airey actually felt the tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniest tinge of guilt as he entered the Forbidden Forest and only because he had promised a certain Gryffindor that the next time he ventured in here. The man disliked not keeping his word. Especially when it was with something that he was fairly sure said Gryffindor would not let him live down.

Maybe she wouldn't find out?

It was all the Headmistress' fault. Yep. She told him he had to be present for all this. Yep. Finger pointing would happen because he was a mature adult. Yep.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringo

Wait a moment. Wands. Wand. She frantically felt the pocket of her snowsuit for her wand where she had placed it, but it wasn't there. She quickly looked all around her. She was positive she had took it, she remembered putting it into the pocket of the snowsuit Bryce had brought. Maybe it fell out somewhere? She began poking around the forest where she had came in, worriedly searching all over the snow covered forest floor.

WOOOOOOOAH!

Flailing his arms so he didn't trip over one of the Environmental employees as they went...doing whatever it was they were doing...he slapped both his hands over his mouth to ensure he didn't make some sort of noise to draw unwanted attention from the chorts. And everything else.

Balance restored, he leaned over to whisper to them. "Pssssst. You aren't going to find any chorts down there." FINALLY someone who was more clueless about creatures than he was. YES.

Harmony's usual excitement had been stifled as she entered the forest. Though her inner aura radiated energy that was itching to break free, the department head knew that a quiet and watchful vibe was going to be much more helpful to her here. She paused for only a moment to take three calming breaths, drawing in the icy air and letting it go slowly. It seemed to help for when she opened her eyes again, she felt at peace.

The woman's eyes scanned the treeline, noting the small disturbance to her left. That was the young witch she'd met at orientation, right? As the professor from Hogwarts seemed to be helping her, Harmony simply sidled towards them and held her wand out in case their quiet conversation attracted any unwanted visitors.

Though perhaps human bait was more ethical than the juvenile acromantulas. She had a feeling they weren't too pleased about this, after all.

Okay. Ember had to like...not be all chatty and whatnot. She just quietly followed the crowd and glanced at that Alexa person who had introduced herself..."Hi..." she whispered, and smiled. "It's nice to meet you...don't be nervous--" not that the girl LOOKED nervous, but Ember thought she'd be helpful anyways. She nodded at her, though, and began to be quiet. She didn't think making a lot of noise was smart, here.

She spotted her head and kept her in eyesight,in case her head had to give them very sudden instructions or anything. She had her want at the ready, and eyed the Hogwarts professor tripping over people and whatnot. It was all right...for now...she just hoped he didn't trip or anything when the chorts arrived. That....would be bad. Ember was hardly the most graceful person anyways, so she knew what it felt like to trip a lottttt :3

So. It was a waiting game, yeah? They just kind of had to..wait? Here? The Forbidden Forest was so eerie, even today, as an adult, back at Hogwarts...she found it creepy. Her skin was full of goosebumps, but this also could have been the temperature here. Yikes.

'Wands at the ready, everyone' were the words that rang in his head while he followed the others towards the Forbidden Forest. Wands at the ready, indeed. It was drawn out and, with the way his hazel eyes were widened and peering around everywhere, it made the man look less like a man on a mission and more like a madman. A very alert madman.

It was a good thing that he didn't care. Or didn't want to.

Still. He remembered his Hogwarts days very well as he entered the Forest. The stories, the rumours, the people being dared to go into there and bragging about their heroic escape from an Acromantula. It was probably because of these stories that he shot Harmony a curious 'are you okay?' look. Merlin knows she was one of the experts here. They kind of needed her, along with that Defence Professor. And he kind of needed his Personal Assistant so please take care of yourself, Ronnie.

Deep breaths... deep breaths... Trying not to make too much noise, Bryce slowly zipped up his snowsuit. It had been warm back in Hogsmeade but over here, the weather was more suited to the article he had read all those months ago. And now they just had to wait, yeah? Wait for the monsters to arrive as if they were people out of a science fiction novel. Ready to be devoured and--

Shudder.

Why couldn't they be battling a plant, eh? And WAS Ronnie okay?

as soon as he heard wands at the ready Jose snapped out of his flirting with the Environmental protection lady and he took out his wand from his snowsuit.. he had managed to put it in one of the loops he found on the suit. everyone seemed to be making their way to the forest area… wait did they say forbidden?? what was so foreboding about this forest? Shrugging his shoulders he followed Harmony and Ember the people he knew the most and he stayed pretty close to them.

He made his way closer to Harmony and whispered "do you think the chorts will come after the baby spiders?" he asked… he knew they were called by another name but the translation was skipping his mind.. but he knew that she would know what he meant. He also wondered if they had a back up plan to lure out the terrible creatures because this was a school and the children needed to come back to learn in a few months and he doubted that any parent would allow their child to come to a school with a Chort infestation problem.

Deep in the heart of the forbidden forest amidst the snow and bitter winds, the chorts sense a disturbance at the edge of their newly-claimed habitat. Invaders. Humans. They were not welcome in chort territory and they had been warned before. But it appeared that they did not listen.

Perhaps the chorts wouldn't play so nicely this time.

The pack of chorts grumbled and growled amongst themselves. They'd keep to their own business for now, but they kept on the defensive. Perhaps the humans would be smart enough to keep out of the forest, if they knew what was good for them. This forest belong to the chorts now. And what the chorts wanted was what they got. Nothing got in their way.

Jazz was prepared for this. As she entered the forest she couldn't shake off the feeling they were being watched. She had goosebumps on her neck for starters. She looked behind her and didn't see anything but she had her wand at the read. After standing still for one minute while everyone was walking, she heard growling near her. She couldn't help but speak up, "Ermmm does anyone hear growling or is it just me?"

She turned around and pointed her wand and swore she saw a creature. It must be in her imagination. She shook her head and continued to walk with the rest. She rather not get left behind.

Harmony Skylark and Bryce Howell. Noted!

Having nodded politely to the two department heads pointed out, she retrieved her wand from her pocket as they moved towards the forest, only to look up and around at the sound of her voice. Ooooh? How familiar....

OH! "Villiam!" Ahem. Oh, hush hush. Library voices. "Oh my...how are you?" It was a NEEEEED to know! Did she get hug? Because she was going in for a hug. Not to mention entirely missed the growling, however, she did not miss the topic being brought up by one of the lovely members of either the creature or environmental departments that had come along. Even more hush hush and constant vigilance.

Well, he certainly didn't remember Hogwarts getting Durmstrang-like temperatures at this time of the year when Hogsmeade was nice and warm. Then again, chorts were not known to making themselves at homes within Hogwarts’ grounds. Hopefully the juvenile acromantulas idea worked. Tancred did not want him or his colleagues to end up as dinner.

"How are you holding up, Ember?" he quietly asked the young woman from his department. She looked cold and maybe a little creeped out. But this was the Forbidden Forest with chort inhabitants, after all. Tancred gave her a warm smile before pressing on with his wand at the ready.

Then he heard the grumbling and growling. So that is what they sounded like? Creepy.

When a woman from Environment asked if anyone heard the chorts, Tancred nodded his head. The dragon commissioner was about to speak, but he remained silent as they made their way further and further into chort territory. The sooner they got rid of the chorts, the better.

Suddenly, she saw something sticking out of the snow. It looked just like her wand! Oh thank heavens... she bent down to grab it, and as she did so, someone nearly tripped over her. She tried not to laugh at what he said, as not to disturb any chorts if they were nearby. She didn't want a sudden attack. "I was just looking for my wand," she whispered back as she stood to her feet.

She then caught up with the rest of the group, taking a spot near her department head, Bryce. She gave him a nod of greeting, her wand at the ready. She was so very glad she had found it. She didn't know what she would do without it, facing these chorts and all...

Speaking of which. Was that...growling she just heard? Her heart leapt as she heard a bustling through the trees. A whole pack of chorts soon emerged, and she swallowed hard, her wand out in front of her.

Sooo. This was becoming increasingly creepier. Not that Ember didn't mind creepy--she really didn't mind. She was also VERY glad that there were lots of other people there with her. Lots of people, actually. Hehe.

She saw Jose and sent a nod his way, still holding her wand in front of her so cautiously. She was feeling calm, just jittery from the cold. Even WITH the snowsuit. When suddenly...she...she heard that. Whoah. What in Merlin's beard-----that was a creepy noise. It had to be the chorts. It HAD to be. What else could it have been? OF course they wouldn't be happy about them being there...in their 'domain.' Riiiiight. She eyed Tancred, her coworker, one of the more experienced ones, too, and she sighed.

"I'm good. Just. Cold." She said with a small grin, and gestured at the forest. "I don't think the Chorts are happy to see us...smell us..whatever they do..." she said, raising an eyebrow. She didn't want to do TOO much talking, but it was kind of helping put her at ease, too. She wanted them to hurry up and come out, though? "Where are the little spiderS?" she asked Tanc, curiously, and also looking over at Harmony with that question.

Harmony had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, one that was slowly quelling the excitement she'd been feeling previously. She even jumped when Jose sidled up next to her, letting out a nervous laugh. "Sorry, I was distracted." Listening to the forest, y'know? "They should. They're extremely territorial so they'll want to drive out any competition for food."

And then someone mentioned growling and though she didn't hear it, she did her best to peer into the treeline for any signs of movement. Was this a sign that the Chorts knew they were here?

Then Ember voiced what she had been thinking about the Acromantulas and the red head glanced at Bryce before looking back towards the others. "I arranged to have them here for us. They'll be here."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roselyn

OH! "Villiam!" Ahem. Oh, hush hush. Library voices. "Oh my...how are you?" It was a NEEEEED to know! Did she get hug? Because she was going in for a hug. Not to mention entirely missed the growling, however, she did not miss the topic being brought up by one of the lovely members of either the creature or environmental departments that had come along. Even more hush hush and constant vigilance.

Villiam. Hehe. William had forgotten how his name sounded in Medea's funny accent. "I'm okay!" he whispered back, but op, okay, hugs were happening and his ears were reddening. He gave his friend a biggggggg hug but then let her go quickly, because chorts and stuff.

He flicked his wand into his hand and crept along toward the forest. MAN, he'd missed this place! "Where are the spiders?" Willy continued whispering. Come on, baby acromantulas! Come out come out wherever you are! Come play!

_________________

Twirling her wand in her hand, Anastasia kept firmly to the back of this group. There was no telling when the chorts would emerge --- OR the spiders --- and she wasn't planning on getting attacked by either. She'd seen enough acromantulas in her travels to know that 1) her son was waaaaay too obsessed with them and 2) they were waaaaaaaaay too hairy and scary for her likes.

So, go on ahead, lovely Creatures and Enviro people. You go explore that big bad forest, mhmm.

Yup. The school is deserted, meaning the kids are already home. This made the architect want to retreat and see if his nephew was okay, but the sight of the castle made the man want to stay. He really missed the place, and would want to explore it again not as a student (of course) but as a man with the eyes of an architect. Max took another look at the grounds, then followed the rest to the Forbidden Forest.

The 35-year old looked at his companions, and wished they kept quiet. Really? All the excessive chatting will definitely lure the chorts toward them, and he wouldn’t want that. He’d rather have the group to find the creatures without knowing that they are there to capture them for good.

Max got his hood up, and his wand at the ready focusing his eyes and ears to the sight and sound around them, and keeping himself alert. He got this feeling that the creatures will be the one to surprise them, and not the other way around.

He hates those kind of surprises really.

As Jasmine was standing there trying to listen if the chorts were coming any closer, she noticed a guy from the creatures department nodding towards her. Phew...she was going crazy. She wasn't the only one. Then someone called out what the spiders were there for? Jasmine's eyes widened. She wasn't a huge fan of spiders. She saw them crawling and heard Harmony speaking to other members. She crept quietly to hear what she had to say. Ahhh so the spiders were there on purpose and the Chorts, they're extremely territorial so they'll want to drive out any competition for food. It made sense. She couldn't help but turn her head and couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching them.

Staying quiet was not an issue for her, and it seemed to be a necessity at this point. Hands clasped behind her back, she stayed less towards the back of the group, but distanced still.

It was not her intention to socialize, it was her intention to do her job.