Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringo

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.

.................oh SWEET SOLSTICE help them. At least she had her wand in hand now. "You may want to cast a Gripping Charm on yourself," he winked. Not having ones wand during this little endeavor was a sure way to get yourself killed.

His own grip on his wand tightened when he heard the low growling. Just had to keep reminding himself that once this was all over he was going to get to have all his suits dry cleaned.

Dry cleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaning.

So he was going to hang back just a little and let the Ministry people, and Medea, do their thing. Creatures were far from his expertise. Not to mention he did not have his trusty lint roller on him to keep chort and acromantula fur off his LAST clean suit he had dug out from the back of his closet.

Their mum was being especially cranky today and resisting leaving the nest, but they had a PLAY DATE to attend and were already late. It was hard to tell though 'cause the sun still wasn't shining through the branches of the outskirts of the forest.

Emerging from the forest, a dozen pincers clicked together hungrily when their bright and beady eyes fell on the humans. It was HARD to find enough food these days with those intruders mucking things up.

"Can we eat just one of the humans?" asked one of the young acromantulas to its older sister.

"No. Mum said no eating them this time," she sneered bitterly. "We have to play a game with them. Not eat them."

All 96 legs marched forward and twitched eagerly.

"Just a leg? I'm so hungry," whined another as it lashed out with its pincers towards the nearest human to it (kayquilz).

"Maybe after playtime we can have a snack?!" another said as it bound forward and stopped in front of another human (hermionesclone).

Abdomens wiggling back and forth like eager cruppy tails, the tweenaged acromantulas watched and waited for the humans to make their first move.

"Oh, goooood." she whispered in return. Ooh what an awful time for a reunion with friends. Lack of attention and not much talking was to be expected. Except about spiders. Though being briefly updated on the plan, she wasn't so much looking forward to seeing their eight legged friends.

At least this reunion was a bit more planned?

"I don't know..."

Oh. There they were.

...

...

Your move department peoples? o.o

trying to walk carefully and not make any noise Jose smiled when Harmony said that the little spiders should be here soon. He was really glad that some of the staff decided to stay and help out the ministry. Sticking close to the group he heard some movement and some clicking.. oh the spiders have come.. and wait.. it was going towards Ember.. "Ember!! watch out" he then noticed his mistake.. he should have said it so loudly he didn't want to scare the little babbies but that one seemed like it wanted a snack.. and then the other one went right in front of Harmony…

okay… so this should be alright, surely Harmony would know what to do but just in case Jose moved closer to Ember and Harmony. His wand was at the ready and so was a immobilization spell just in case he needed it asap. "I'm here…. let me know if you ladies need me" he whispered quietly instead of talking out like he did like two minutes ago. Way to be stealthy Jose, Geezzz… Fixing his grip on his wand he watched the spiders and listened for the other noises in the forest.

Harmony was beginning to feel as though the Acromantulas had decided to go back on their agreement and if that was the case, the red head knew they'd need to forge on ahead without them. Humans could be just as much of a threat, sure, but the distraction was what she was hoping would give them enough time to bind the Chorts. Luckily for her and the rest of the team, just as these thoughts had surfaced, the juvenile Acromantulas appeared.

The department head wasn't bothered by the pincer snapping or the apparent danger to them. She trusted that these creatures would help and so she approached, shooting Jose an incredulous look as he called out to Ember. "Quiet voices, please. We're about to head into the forest and I don't want to give ourselves away if the Chorts don't know we're here." She didn't let on that they probably already did, best not to cause any panic. "Thank you for coming." This was to the giant spiders now accompanying them.

"Alright, you lot," The red head rounded on the team, "We'll be heading deeper into the forest now. If the Acromantulas would like to lead the group, that'd be helpful. You know the area best." She smiled kindly at the creatures though there was something behind her eyes that made it clear she was not to be crossed. "Wands out and perhaps we should stagger ourselves rather than move in a straight line. We'll want all vantage points covered. Please remember, the Chorts are smart. You'll want to use ropes to bind them as soon as they appear." Or else, well, they'd have quite a fight on their hands.

"Everyone ready?"

Ember just nodded at Harmony. Her boss said they'd be here, so they'd be here, and she had no questions about it. But the silence was thickening, and Ember literally hadn't heard anything since what she assumed was the Chorts' growling...and she was beginning to wonder where the heck those little spiders were? Her lavender eyes flickered around, and suddenly--

WHOAH.

She jumped a little, feeling AND seeing AND hearing that pincer--and but she hadn't screamed or anything. Ember was hard to scared when it came to creatures like that. She just glared down at the little buggers. "OY!" she hissed. "Yeah--we have an agreement--" she nodded her head at her boss again and would NOW be keeping THAT little acromentula in SIGHT.

EMBER WAS NOT AFRAID TO KICK SPIDER BUTT OKAY. Butonlyifthespidersdeservedit. Not randomly. Her leg being knawed off was a good enough excuse, though, right? She thought so, at least, and please, Harmony would have to think so, too. She glanced at Jose. He was being all protective and whatnot--cute--but she could handle herself. She DID stick close to her coworker though. "Thanks--I'm fine--but I'll stay close--" she said, winking, even though it probably wouldn't be noticed in the darkness of their...setting. Ahem.

Harmony was speaking again, and she really had to peeeeel her ears to hear because BossLady was speaking LOW. Probably a good thing, though. She eyed the spiders and stuck out her tongue. Real mature, Ember. But hey! She valued her legs, thanks. "Ready, Harmony!" she said, beaming in excitement but also her heart banging against her chest BECAUSE SHE WAS ALSO NERVOUS OKAY.

Being near the forest was making the almost thirty-one year old particularly jumpy so, naturally, when he felt a presence near him, Bryce jumped and had to bite down on his lip to stop himself from calling out. "Merlin's beard, it's only you." Ronnie. Personal Assistant. And certainly not a chort of some kind. "Are you okay?"

Deep breaths, Howell.

................. O_O

Before he could do much more than ask Ronnie a simple little question, the sound of pincers filled his ears, along with a shout and some twitching. The Enviro Head jumped yet AGAIN -- probably on someone's toes this time -- when an Acromantula stropped right in front of HIM. ASDFGHJL; NO. The man wasn't getting any younger, take it easy there.

Breathing heavily, his hazel eyes were wide as Bryce STARED at the creature in front of him and THEN at Harmony. Thank Merlin that the eccentric woman knew what she was doing and what they should do next because this man had no idea. Instead, he held his wand out and shot a furtive glance at the juvenile Acromantulas. Did he trust them? No. But he gave Harmony a nod to say that he was ready.

There little spidey. Nice little spidey. Just go off ahead there, little spidey, and he'll follow behind.

Jasmine listened to Harmony giving them directions. She didn't know if she was comfortable following the spiders. They weren't one of her favorite creatures. She still squirmed at the sight of them. Then she heard the spiders talking. She heard they wanted to eat someone. GULP...she hoped it wasn't her. When she heard it was Bryce she was sort of glad it wasn't her. But now she was worried about her boss. Then she heard other instructions from Harmony and they needed to use ropes to bind the Chorts. She got the hang of that. She remembered the spell and said it in her head a few time. Then she said quietly, "Ready...". She wanted to go to a different vantage point so she lingered away from the straight line still following the spiders.

Why spiders? Why couldn't it be follow the butterflies? They could have been so much cuter.

Awwwwwww, the spiders were here! *_* The hairier and more ferocious the monster creature, the better, in William's book. He clutched his wand eagerly and followed the lil acromantulas into the forest. Some of these babies probably hadn't even been born back when he had taught here! *tear!*

Still, best be cautious. Some of his coworkers had probably never even seen an acromantula up close.

Ronnie shook her head, smiling, giving the man a nod. Perhaps he was right about that, gripping charms...heh...she was about to whisper something back when a noise coming from deeper in the woods distracted her.

The red head held her breath at the sight of all the acromantulas. Oh, bloody hell, there were a lot... far too many for Ronnie. But then again, one was just enough for her. She absolutely hated spiders. The creatures were so scary looking and definitely one of her biggest fears. Swallowing hard, with a shaky hand she held her wand at the ready, in case they made any moves towards any of her fellow workers. They didn't look too trusty to Ronnie. Hmm.

She glanced towards Harmony, who didn't look at all spooked by the things. Some people had to be mad. Harmony just wasn't the teensiest bit scared! Merlin's beard. She sure was brave, unlike Ronnie who was shaking like a leaf inside her snowsuit, and not because of the cold but because of the acromantuals...*shudder*

They'd be headed into the forest now? Taking a step forth, she followed along with the group into the forest. She took a deep breath in and out.

She kept an ear open for when the department spoke, though was unable to tear her gaze away from the acromantulas. Goodness, it'd been awhile since she'd seen one up close and personal like this. And they got bigger than this, didn't they? Much bigger. Although, one tiny little detail had her gaze moving to the speaker. Ahem.

"May I suggest," she quietly spoke up. "Using chains instead of rope?"

Just...a thought.

Alex was here and keeping quiet mostly. After all, creatures weren't really her specialty. No, she was here to restore Hogwarts back to the normal Scottish Climate once these chorts were sent away. So the brunette just kept close behind Bryce and listened to her colleagues and what they had to say.

Was that ... spiders? No wait, they were following the spiders .... because apparently they knew where they'd find the chorts.

Wand at the ready, Alex blinked when she heard a whisper to use chains instead of rope.

Hissing and rearing its fuzzy legs when the one human (Grrr..Meow) was LOUD, it nearly did take just a taste out of the human lady's (kayquilz) leg. Thankfully for the humans, the acromantula remembered its promise to mother.

"I know, human," is sneered, waving one of its hair legs right in her face. See? Not touching YOU so THERE. "You all should remember that you are guests in our home."

"Not guests, PLAYMATES!" bounced another who had settled for trotting along side the human lady who seemed to be team captain (TakemetotheBurrow). "This one says we have to find the court to play on!"

"Chort, not court you eight-legged freak," sneered a third. Its younger siblings were so aggravating.

Two more acromantulas flanked either side of the friendly looking human (BanaBatGirl) and one nudged its abdomen against his leg firmly. "Mister Human, sir. Human, sir. What kind of game are we playing today?"

The oldest of the group, still very much annoyed by its siblings' stupidity, scurried to the front of the group and pressed on. "The funny accent human is right," it grumped. "These monsters cannot be stopped by puny ropes."

"Move faster, human! You'll miss all the fun!" another said as it used its front legs to push on the back of another human(Ringo).

The acromantulas lead on, some still wiggling like excited cruppies, and into the deeper part of the forest.

"Here," the oldest said grimly while coming to a stop.

The chorts became increasingly aware of the earlier disturbance growing more prominent. Were the foolish humans still intent on encroaching their territory? It would seem that way which only served to cause the chorts to become more hostile. No humans were going to get in their way and, since they did not learn from their previous warning, the chorts would have to ensure that they would be left undisturbed in their new home.

But what was this? Food. The chorts could sense it, hear it, smell it. Food was growing scarce in the tundra like conditions and acromantulas would serve them well. Grumbling and growling among themselves, they turned back they way they came, in search of their next meal. And there they were, small but a large group of them. As well as a large group of humans in tow. The chort pack stopped and assessed the group as they readied their claws and brandished their horns. They could rid themselves of the humans and grab a bite to eat.

...Ah.

Spiders.

LARGE spiders. With a squeak, she quickly stepped back, effectively stomping on someone's foot. Turning, she blinked.

"O-oh, sorry about that."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roselyn

She kept an ear open for when the department spoke, though was unable to tear her gaze away from the acromantulas. Goodness, it'd been awhile since she'd seen one up close and personal like this. And they got bigger than this, didn't they? Much bigger. Although, one tiny little detail had her gaze moving to the speaker. Ahem.

"May I suggest," she quietly spoke up. "Using chains instead of rope?"

Just...a thought.

Hu------wait, they were going to use CHAINS now?!! William's mind was suddenly going fuzzy when it came to conjuring chains vs. ropes, and he sent Medea a startled look that said as much. Uh? Uh? Uh?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ACROMANTULAS!

Hissing and rearing its fuzzy legs when the one human (Grrr..Meow) was LOUD, it nearly did take just a taste out of the human lady's (kayquilz) leg. Thankfully for the humans, the acromantula remembered its promise to mother.

"I know, human," is sneered, waving one of its hair legs right in her face. See? Not touching YOU so THERE. "You all should remember that you are guests in our home."

"Not guests, PLAYMATES!" bounced another who had settled for trotting along side the human lady who seemed to be team captain (TakemetotheBurrow). "This one says we have to find the court to play on!"

"Chort, not court you eight-legged freak," sneered a third. Its younger siblings were so aggravating.

Two more acromantulas flanked either side of the friendly looking human (BanaBatGirl) and one nudged its abdomen against his leg firmly. "Mister Human, sir. Human, sir. What kind of game are we playing today?"

The oldest of the group, still very much annoyed by its siblings' stupidity, scurried to the front of the group and pressed on. "The funny accent human is right," it grumped. "These monsters cannot be stopped by puny ropes."

"Move faster, human! You'll miss all the fun!" another said as it used its front legs to push on the back of another human(Ringo).

The acromantulas lead on, some still wiggling like excited cruppies, and into the deeper part of the forest.

"Here," the oldest said grimly while coming to a stop.

Oh boy, these baby spiders were talkative, and much more friendly than their older counterparts. Hehehe! William nearly tripped when one rubbed his leg --- EHEHEHEHEHEE, FUZZY --- but he kept his cool AND his wand in clear sight. "We are playing... ring-around-the chorts-y...." he replied seriously after a moment of thought.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHORTS!

The chorts became increasingly aware of the earlier disturbance growing more prominent. Were the foolish humans still intent on encroaching their territory? It would seem that way which only served to cause the chorts to become more hostile. No humans were going to get in their way and, since they did not learn from their previous warning, the chorts would have to ensure that they would be left undisturbed in their new home.

But what was this? Food. The chorts could sense it, hear it, smell it. Food was growing scarce in the tundra like conditions and acromantulas would serve them well. Grumbling and growling among themselves, they turned back they way they came, in search of their next meal. And there they were, small but a large group of them. As well as a large group of humans in tow. The chort pack stopped and assessed the group as they readied their claws and brandished their horns. They could rid themselves of the humans and grab a bite to eat.

And.... speak of the devil, there they were. Gulp. These things had horns and claws and... and were they supposed to be summoning chains now?! "Harmony?!" Willy might have squeaked as he took a step back from the acromantulas.

Just wanted to be prepared in case something charged.

Chains. Harmony glanced at the Hogwarts professor and smiled serenely, nodding her head. "Chains would work too, though I think the Chorts will be able to break both if we don't bind them quickly and carefully." The red head also didn't want to hurt the creatures, despite the danger they were causing. They were still to be handled meticulously. "Please use ropes or chains but know that you'll need to produce strong ones and be quick." This was to the entire group, Harmony's tone serious and lacking its usual whimsy touch.

And weren't the acromantulas the most adorable things? The creatures head tried her best not to laugh at the banter going on, reassuring the one closest to her that it was indeed Chorts that she was referring to. "We will indeed want to circle the chorts. It'll be most helpful if you could assist us with this."

Oh. OH.

Harmony paused, eyes wide as she spotted what they'd come here to find. Alarmingly threatening group of Chorts looking ready for battle. The red head held up a free hand to stop the group, her wand hand extended in front of her and steady. "Be calm and quiet," She urged those around her. This was an extremely delicate situation and they were currently on high alert. "Fan out slowly, wands ready, and rope or chain as soon as they're within reach. Don't hesitate and look out for each other. This will be our only chance."

Mr. Head of Enviro--Bryce--had Ember jumping up--almost out of her shoes, for Merlin's sake. He kept making NOISES and jumping and she just wanted him to NOT scare her for no reason. She shot him a look in the dark, but obviously he wouldn't see it. Right. Ember was normally VERY patient but she had her big-adult-pants on and was trying to get rid of these....pesky chorts.

And then a woman with a funny accent--Ember had probably been at Hogwarts when the professor was there--suggested using chains. Right. Ember wasn't a fan of this chain idea. It might hurt the chorts. And while they were nasty when in bad tempers, Ember STILL didn't want to hurt the poor guys! And what Harmony said made sense--they would have to hurry if they wanted to capture the chorts, and it didn't matter what sort of binding tool one used in the process. The turquoise-haired woman kept steadily walking forward, still close to Jose and eyeing the back of Mr. Williamson with an raiiiiiised eyebrow. Well. If HE thought the spiders were cute---HMPH.

Right. They WERE guests, she supposed, as the little spiders started talking more. Keep talking! Maybe the chorts will come out to play soon? The spiders stopped, and Ember did, too, as her ears twitched...well. Those chorts definitely knew they were present, now. She could hear them, their growling, their grumbling, and she narrowed her eyes in the darkness that surrounded them. She actually wasn't feeling too scared, either. She was more worried about the poor Enviro peoples--did they have ANY training with creatures? It was nice of them to come to help--she hoped they all made it. She was sure they would, but they seemed so scared. Ember would have to hug them after all of this was said and done YEEEPPPP.

Okay okay...START FANNING OUT EVERYONE! Ember heard Harmony speak again and slowly began her descent from the group--not venturing too far or too quickly, but she knew they needed to completely surround the Chorts in order to capture them. Her wand was out, and she was VERY focused--She glanced sideways at Jose and she hoped that he would stick close. You know. In case a Chort attacked her--or one of the baby spiders got hungry and decided to gnaw at her leg.

Either way, Ember didn't want to be COMPLETELY alone!

Ronnie felt woozy. All these spiders. And they were so BIG. She felt as if she was going to pass out....suddenly, she felt something push againt her back and she knew it wasn't a Ministry person because it spoke and had the voice of the acromantulas around...she let out a little yelp in fear and quickly covered her mouth with her hands and her little yelp was muffled by her dragon hide gloves. Merlin's beard.

"I'm going!" she squeaked to the acromantula as she quickened her pace along with the group.

Oh. And what do ya know. Right there in front of them. There were the chorts. Ronnie kept her wand ready in case they made any sudden moves or attacks towards anyone in the group. Gosh, now that she had a better look at them, she noticed how kinda scary looking they were. But they weren't as scary as those bloody acromantulas, of course.

Well, yes...but...

Closing her mouth, she nodded somewhat and stayed quiet. Her position was to assist, not to lead like the department woman's was. Not to mention...they found the chorts. Or the chorts found them actually. Having only seen them in pictures, this was quite a more terrifying experience than she expected. Wand, she took a deep breath and glanced to William out of the corner of her eye. Oh my.

Although, she was quite certain she misunderstand the woman. They were spreading out? Shouldn't they...not? Or tag team? What did the woman meeeaaan when she said not to hesitate or look out for one another? Dear Merlin, she...she couldn't do that. It went against her very nature! Certainly there'd be more opportunities than this.

She'd do her best though. To capture the chorts...and to keep a watch on the others.

Seeing Harmony look at him he knew that he was speaking too loud.. "sorry" he whispered as he stuck close to the ladies. and yeah the little spider hissed at him for being so loud too.. "this one would make a good pet for Harmony" he thought as they continued walking…

and noise there was tons of noise everyone had to try to be a lot more cautious from now on. Seeing everyone get their wands more ready and with chain spells Jose decided to do the same.. and ohhh.. Ember was sticking close to him.. she's so CUTE *ahem* back to the task at hand as they ventured deeper into the forest.

Jasmine was very cautious about what was happening. She saw Jose and everyone else approach the chorts cautiously. She tried to be sneaky like a ninja. She walk softly or well as softly as she could. She ventured deeper into the forest. She heard Ronnie squeak and went over to help her out. "Heyy Ronnie you alright? You didn't get bit or anything?" she asked as she gave the spider a cold look. She wasn't happy they were working with them. They can't boss them around. "Come with me Ronnie.." she offered. The spiders didn't follow her thank the merlin.

Just then, someone approached her, and Ronnie jumped, thinking it was another acromantula. They were picking on her on purpose just because she was frightened of them, weren't they? Why, she was gonna give them a piece of HER mind! Turning, she saw it was just Jazz. Oh. WHEW. She shook her head, sighing with relief. "No they just...poked my back and startled me. I'm fine, though, thanks." she whispered as she walked with her friend, grateful she didn't have to be so close to those bloody creatures anymore...

Dear Merlin. Can they stop whispering?! There were scary looking chorts in front of them now, plus they were walking WITH big spiders…which seems to look SO normal for the others by the way, and that they should FOCUS on the task at hand. Max had his wand out all along and stopped when the biggest spider pointed that they were already in the zone…and hello chorts. Max had his ears focused on the red-head.

Yes, okay. Max trudged closer to the Creatures People, and would fan out WITH them. He was an architect, for Merlin’s sake and this was NOT his specialty. But for the sake of his old school, and his nephew’s safety, he will help get those chorts out of the area and bring back the normal temperature.

Blue eyes were focused on the chorts with a deadly glare. He knows he’s got fast reflexes, so pointing his wand right away on the creatures won’t be necessary for now. He didn’t want the hairy boys in front of them to swat his only protection from his hand. Nope, thanks very much. Nonetheless, he was ready to spring into action once the higher ups give them the go signal.

This task was already complicated enough as it is but then it was made worse when the mention of 'chains' came about.

Bryce stopped. And stared. And glanced down at his wand. And stared some more.

How good was he with spells? It was more of a hit or a miss. They worked or they didn't. Incarcerous was something he could do well and he was sure he could produce a good enough rope but chains? That was a different matter. And he didn't care about hurting the creatures; there was no mercy for them from this man after what had happened. Practising was out of the question; he didn't want to be the only one here who couldn't conjure something properly.

Sigh. Where were the PLANTS?

Speaking of, some of these plants in here or around the grounds were probably flooded. Washed. Wasted away. Poor sou--

And then there was more staring.

Those Chorts really were a scary bunch, weren't they? And ugly. Very ugly. No offence meant but........... yeah. He shuddered at the sight of them but tightened his grip on his wand all the same. A furtive glance was made towards the Acromantulas, silently praying to Merlin that they weren't going to pounce on them as soon as their task was over. Beasts, the lot of them. No matter how juvenile they were meant to be. And he was itching to get away from them as soon as possible.

Fan out? There was the small matter of: he didn't want to. It was an every man for himself situation, from what he was gathering, and if that was the case, the Enviro-Head was a goner. Gone. One of them, probably. UGH. He was trying not to let this show, however, as he took a couple of steps off to one side and glared in the direction of the Chorts, wand at the ready.

Your move.