They always raced things in this class, that was something Toby had noticed. Honestly, he didn't mind being late to his next class, but then... getting to ride on the back of a unicorn? An opportunity he didn't want to pass up.

He watched Thompson's example, then turned back to his own unicorn as the professor sped away, and reached up to pat the creature's long nose.

"So, uh... would you be able to take me back to the barnyard?" he asked, voiced still automatically low and soft. "I think... the, uh, professor said something about treats? N'I'd really appreciate it." Toby reached up to stroke the unicorn's neck, and ran his fingers carefully through its mane. As he did so, the creature sunk down low. Toby smiled. "Thank you."

After petting it some more, Toby moved around so he could hop aboard. This... could be tricky. He distinctly remembered the issues he'd had trying to get on the Hippogriff last term, but those had been so much bigger, and the unicorn was very accommodating. With a lot more ease than all that last term, Toby swung a leg up and over and was soon sitting astride the animal. It raised itself up again and Toby tapped it with his heels as he'd seen Thompson do. And just like that, nyoooom.

The race would have been easy as beans if it wasn't for one thing. Obstacles. Natural, I'ma-Getcha obstacles. Zeke ducked his head to dodge a low hanging branch, but it didn't stop his pants from catching on passing bushes and scrub. He was still in one piece, but his pants would need mending... he had the whole natural air conditioning ventilation slit things happening. Whoops?

"You're doing so well," he said into his unicorns neck as he leaned forward to dodge another branch. At least they weren't so low as to make them go around, though they did weave between some anyway. A straight path would be handy. All sorts of handy.

"We're almost there," he added, giving the unicorn an affectioning stroke along its withers.

How were they even going? It was so hard to tell, once he was certain he wouldn't be hitting his head on anything in the foreseeable future, he peaked over his shoulder. He seemed to be well positioned.

When he turned back, he was confronted with a sight. Uuuuhhhh… was that a hedge? ……

…..

HOW WERE THEY GOING TO GET OVER THAT?…. Surely they weren’t … jumping, were they?

Zeke braced himself, his arms holding onto the striking white creature as best he could without causing it harm.

Oh Merlin, this thing went a lot faster than Toby had been expecting. Thinking about it now, it was obvious; they were well known for being difficult to catch. It made a lot of sense, really. Toby sort of wished they could do this in the dark, to really get the effect of their shining and stuff... like the best light show in the world.

But it wasn't like Toby couldn't handle high speeds. Flying and all that, he had the reflexes. Admittedly, his reflexes were slower than usual as of late, but they were still there.

WOAH LOW HANGING BRANCH.

The unicorn was ruthless, going like the wind and not slowing down, and as Toby ducked his head to avoid the branch he felt it brush against the ends of his hair. Wow. Okay. Could've died. No big.

"Jeez, you're fast," he found himself saying aloud, holding onto the unicorn's neck. "It's awesome."

He was still flat forward against the unicorn when he felt it jerk suddenly to the left, and as Toby glanced right he saw a tree fly past his vision. Well, this unicorn knew what it was doing, good to know. Carefully, and still holding on as firmly as he felt was wise, Toby sat himself back up a little, just as the creature slalomed through a couple more trees.

As much as he kinda wanted to close his eyes, he didn't. If they were going to turn, stop, or if he was going to fly off.... he wanted to know and see it happen. But as it was, he unicorn maintained it's smooth and steady gait, so graceful in the way it stepped. Short of the hedge, he felt the unicorn rear up and before he could even think on it, they were gliding over to the other side, the stretch to the barnyard an easy one to follow.

He was beaming, grinning, THIS WAS AWESOME.

He wasn't sure what he preferred to be honest, hippogriffs had been awesome with their flying thing, but dragons too were super powerful and just ... awe-inspiring. Unicorns, he felt, were in a league of their own where riding was concerned. Despite the lack of saddle, the ride was so smoooooooooooth, and it was amazing at how refined these creatures were when RUNNING/galloping/RACING.

Nearing the barnyard they started slowing, but not before he made sure they were in front and FIRST. He was all sorts of competitive where flying and riding was concerned.

"We did it!" he smiled, patting his unicorn affectionately.

And just wow... could he like, NOT go to his next class? Couldn't he just stay and help out and hug the unicorns some more?... if they'd let him... of course.

He started mounted for the time being, not at all eager to get off. "You rode beautifully," he informed his unicorn, stroking its man and untangling a couple of strands there. It was so pretty and shiny, and white, and kinda silvery.

The longer he was on the unicorn, the more Toby realised he actually felt pretty safe and secure. Like... it knew what it was doing, and wouldn't endanger him... perhaps there was even some sort of magic within the unicorn to keep riders safe, if they permitted it? Something about this was especially magical, but maybe that was just a personal thing.

If Toby hadn't been looking where they were going, he doubted he'd even have noticed the log they leapt over, but he definitely would have been hit by that branch. Luckily, he was looking and made sure to duck as soon as he saw it. Finally, the unicorn leapt over and cleared one last hedge before practically flying down that last stretch to the barnyard.

At last they pulled up to a halt, and Toby carefully slid off the unicorn, windswept and exhilarated. He wanted to do that again.

"Good job," Toby said to his trusty steed, moving back into its range of vision and patting its neck. He'd made a point not to give a name to the creature; that only ever ended in sadness when they had to part, and... unicorns were just so wild and untameable and such free spirits that giving it a name just felt wrong. "Thank you. That was amazing." ... "I'm sure Thompson has treats for you." 'Cause, y'know... that had been part of the deal, and Toby didn't want to renege on that. He glanced around for the professor momentarily, but inevitably his gaze was drawn back to the unicorn. So beautiful and amazing and a sight he could look at all day, but probably only had a few more minutes.

Well, for those minutes, the unicorn had his full attention. A rare gift when it came to the likes of Tobias Fuller-Thompson.

She got to RIDE it? MAN, this class just kept getting better and better and BETTER. Soon it'd just be the best, except it wasn't allowed to be the best because Herbology had to be the best as a rule. But UNICORNS. Okay, maybe they could be tied. Norah gave the unicorn's silver head a few more strokes before asking softly, "D'ya think you could give me a ride back to the barnyard? Pretty please? I bet Professor Thompson has lots of yummy treats back there for you. And I can give you hugs!" She was good at those, yep. She stroked its mane a few more times, smiling, before adding, "I'd really appreciate it a whole lot, 'specially 'cause you're my bestest friend now." The third year tried not to be amazed when the unicorn sank low enough for her to climb on, but it was so totally amazeballs that it was hard, okay? Her bestie unicorn understood what she wanted and everything, which probably meant it was way too smart for her but oh well. It was a unicorn, she could forgive it for anything, really.

Norah took two attempts to swing her leg over the unicorn's silvery back, because short legs made everything a bazillion times harder which wasn't very nice of whoever decided to make her short 'cause it got in the way of her and her unicorn bestie doing all the things. She pressed her heels a little into the unicorn's sides just like Professor Thompson had, and gave the creature some more affectionate pats on the neck before saying, "Thanks, friend. You ready to win this thing?" She was SO ready.

Brooklyn had looked up from her new unicorn acquaintances as she heard Professor Thompson speak again. He hadn’t said anything about her current situation, so she figured there wasn’t a problem with it. The mama unicorn didn’t seem to be worried about her baby being so close to her, so she didn’t see a reason why the professor would. Although, it was going to be awfully hard trying to see if she could get a ride back to the grounds with the foal still nudging her side and occasionally licking her. She wasn’t stupid enough to try to ride it, even if it was probably strong enough to hold her. Instead, she turned back to mama.

“Okay, mama. Do you think I could ride you back to where I’m supposed to go?,” she said softly, still stroking her neck even as the foal gave her another nudge. She figured the professor would have treats or something for all the unicorns, so bribery wouldn’t be necessary. She didn’t even think there would be a problem when it came to the foal. Not when it was practically glued to her side, which still posed a problem if mama agreed to let her ride. She twisted around to give the foal a stroke or two on its nose as she waited, though. Maybe that would help.

She turned back as she saw the mama lower her head as if agreeing to let her ride, even bending her front legs slightly. Okay, she thought, taking that as a sign to climb on or be left behind. First, she gave the foal another stroke or two to hopefully appease it, and then climbed on its mama’s back. “Let’s go, mama. I’m sure your baby will come too,” she whispered, leaning forward over the unicorn’s neck so she’d be heard. She didn’t doubt that she was right, either, and it seemed like the mama felt the same as after a brief second, she took off running.

His unicorn seemed to be listening non stop to him. Of course. The poor unicorn had nothing better to do than to listen to Adi's endless babbles. Heh. "You're awesome,'' he repeated again but shut up when he heard Thompson's voice.

A ride back? YES! After watching the demonstration, Adi turned his attention back to the creature, still petting it. "Let's take a trip to the barnyard, please, you awesome creature. I heard there are treats waiting there.''

Pet, pet, pet!

Adi waited patiently for his unicorn to do something.

Ooooooh, they got to ride the unicorns and apparently it was going to be a race of sorts. That meant Janelle had some fast talking to do. She turned to Sunny and looked him straight in the eye. "We're a team, right? Well we have the chance to do something awesome together. I'll need a favor though. Sunny, would you please give me a ride back to the barnyard?" Looking hopefully at her friend, Janelle waited for a response.

Fortunately, Sunny was all in for the ride. He bent down so Janelle could hop onto his back. She carefully, but quickly climbed aboard. Hen she whispered into his ear. "You know, it would be great if we could beat the others back to the barnyard. Are you up for a race?" It seemed that Sunny was as competitive as Janelle because off they went. The race was on.

The unicorn lowered itself just as the Professor's had done and the excited Puffer that was Adi was able to carefully swing his legs over either side. He patted the unicorn once more. "Thanks a lot, buddy. Whenever you're ready for us to get going.'' The unicorn stood up straight once more and began clopping off in the barnyard's direction.

EEEEP! This was super fun! Adi was enjoying himself! Uh uh!SUPER HUGE BRANCH HANGING LOW COMING UP! Adi ducked quickly and avoided having his glasses whacked off of his face. His unicorn had no trouble maneuvering around the hedges.

"You're doing brilliantly.'' Cue another pat! Man, were these unicorns smart! The fifth year had to duck a little lower than the first time around as another branch came into view. "I think we're almost there, bud.''

The unicorn maneuvered a big tree and Adi could see the barnyard a short distance away.

Stroking the small unicorn lightly along it's side Hady lifted her head as she heard the Professor speaking once more. They were almost done for the day? Already? She wasn't ready to head back...but wait...what was that?

Had the Professor just said they'd be racing the unicorns back to the barn? Well alright then! This made Hady smile a little bit and she looked at the younger golden unicorn with it's silverish flecks standing before her. Was he big enough? He was bigger then her but she wasn't sure. Erm...

"Well my Professor over there says we should go for a ride to the barns..you'll be getting a treat if you want it..." She whispered softly running her hand along his head. The unicorn stared at her for a long moment and then looked back to it's mother before looking to Hady again. "Don't worry I won't let anything harm your baby..." She added to the older unicorn with a smile.

Just then the smaller one lowered himself down before her as if waiting. "Really? Thank you..." She hummed softly as she carefully swung her leg over it's body and sat herself up as the unicorn got back on it's hooves. "You are absolutely gorgeous...you ready?"

Giving her newest friend a small pat on the neck and they were off. Not very quickly but they were moving and in all honesty she didn't really care to much if they won or not right now.

Duck another branch for Adi and side step two hedges for the unicorn. These two made a great team! Well, in Adi's opinion, he always made a great team with whatever creature he worked with.

"Just a few more steps and you'll be rid of my bulk,'' Adi said, grinning. He wasn't that heavy, right? One minute later approximately, they had arrived. Back at the Barnyard! "You were just great!'' The unicorn lowered itself once more and Adi hopped off but immediately went back to speaking to the creature.

"Thank you, thank you! We'll get you those treats the moment the Professor gets back.'' The Hufflepuff kept looking around, trying to see if he could locate the treats but he could see none so he would wait for Thompson.

Anywaaay...

"I really wish I could keep you, buddy. But it was fun working and getting to know you." Yup.

Pat, pat!

Who knew that unicorns could move so fast. Janelle held on and Sunny kept moving at a pretty good pace. She kept encouraging her friend as they rode. "Your doing great buddy. Just head for the barnyard and we'll be there before you know it." Knowing Professor Thompson, this would not be an easy ride. You could always count on some twists and tuns when he was involved.

Janelle shouted guidance to Sunny, making sure that he would avoid the obstacles in their way. "Go left. Watch out for the tree. Duck!" Of course her unicorn was smart. He had sense enough not to run into anything. Janelle spotted a tree up ahead, directly in their path. "Watch out", she said. She needn't have worried though. Sunny was already on it, veering to the side just in time. Janelle saw the barnyard in he distance. "Come on, my friend. We're almost there."

Slowly her unicorn made it's way along though it began to pick up it's pace after a few moments. "That's it boy go on, go as fast as you like I won't fall." Hady encouraged softly, giving her new friend a light pat on his neck. Her words seemed to spark something inside the baby unicorn for it made a soft noise somewhat like a neigh before taking off!

Hady giggled softly having not expected him to suddenly move so fast and so gracefully! Not that she minded in the least, her hands resting on his upper back enough to keep herself from falling. It seemed her buddy knew just where he was going...for now anyway.

Bouncing along she kept her eyes focused on where they needed to go. The unicorn dashed through the trees causing her to duck more then once so she wouldn't be smacked in the face by branches that hung to lowly. "Eep..." She gasped ducking just in time as yet another branch skimmed the top of her head.

How had Janelle missed it. There was a big obstacle between them and the barnyard. There was a hedge smack in the middle of their path. She had been so focused on their destination, that she had neglected to recognize this slight problem. Janelle didn't know how good Sunny's jumping skills were. The hedge wasn't terribly high. They could probably make it.......probably.

The other option was to go around the hedge, but that would require them to slow down and divert their course. Janelle wanted to win, but not at Sunny's expense. She decided to go with Plan B and go around the hedge. There was no way hat he would risk her unicorn getting hurt.

"Sunny, we have to get around the bushes. Slow down, we need to take the long way 'round." Janelle's friend did as he was told. They slowed down just enough to make their way around the edge of the hedge. Once they were clear, Janelle gave her final instructions. "Run for the barnyard Sunny." Off the unicorn went and he didn't stop until they had reached their destination. Once he slowed and came to a stop, Janelle hopped down. Then she wrapped her arms around the unicorn's neck.

"You did it Sunny. You are the best unicorn ever! I'm so glad your my friend now." More pats and hugs followed for the unicorn who had definitely won a fan and a friend for life.

Norah beamed at the back of the unicorn's head as it shot off in the direction of the barnyard, leaning down to wrap her arms around its neck to avoid falling off. "Yeah yeah! You're so fast" she half-shouted right into the unicorn's mane. How did it do that?

She sat up a little straighter, still holding on tight, to watch as the unicorn ran. They approached a pile of pokey branches in their path, but by the time Norah got the words "Be careful, you've gotta jump quick!" out of her mouth, the unicorn had already cleared the pile like it was nothing. Wooooooah. The third year patted the unicorn some more as they went now, because holy guacamole it was ah-MAZING.

They got nearer and nearer to a low hanging brach this time, and she was READY to be all helpful. "Watch out for that branch, okay?" Okay, she wasn't that helpful considering that the unicorn was already ducking, but at least it reminded her to duck. She went back to hugging the unicorn's neck with her head on the side this time so she could still see what was coming. "Almost there!"

Just when she thought this day couldn't get any better for her, it did. The professor said they could ride their unicorns back to the barn AND they were to have a competition with it as well. This was AJ's thing. Only this time she didn't want to race. Oh no. She wanted to be able to stay on her unicorn for as long as possible. So if the only reward was a few more points it just wasn't worth it in her opinion. More time with a unicorn was a better reward if you asked her.

AJ looked at her unicorn and smiled warmly at her. Man, she was beautiful. The perfect color. In fact if she could choose what unicorn to take home today it would be this very one. Now to get permission to ride her.

"Wanna give me a lift? Pretty please!" Her smile never faltered, and her sincerity was real. "Maybe the professor will let me give you a treat as well when we get back." AJ would love to feed the beautiful creature.

The unicorn seemed to be okay with her request because it seemed to lower itself just a little bit. "Thank you." The lion gracefully climbed on to the unicorn and made herself comfy. "I'm ready when you are." And she was totally okay with being the last one back to the barn.

Wait...WHAT?!

They were going to not only try to RIDE them...but to RACE them? Benny was more than a little shocked. He didn't think unicorns would be into that. Dragons...yeah, winged horse...of course, but unicorns? They seemed the more subdued type unless you messed with them. The Gryffindor looked back towards his charge as if trying to gage if his unicorn would go for it. He certainly wasn't looking forward to being late to his next class if the timing was on the mark.

Benny watched as Professor Thompson demonstrated, inwardly wondering how it would work for him. "How about it?" he asked his unicorn, gently rubbing his muzzle and forelock politely. "Will you let me ride you?" He waited patiently for some kind of response, either positive or negative. He'd be okay with either because he wasn't going to force anything on the creature.

He'd trudge back alone if he really had to.

EEEEEP!!

They got to ride the Unicorns. Squealing, Lux petted its head some more. This was going to be awesome and she never thought she would get this opportunity. She would definitely be gushing to Bay about it later.

Watching Professor Thompson's demonstration, she made a note of the process and was pleased to see that it was very simple. It would also work in her favour to be a girl, as they were more trusting of females. "How about we head back now? There are lovely treats for you. Is it okay if I ride on your back?" Speaking softly, she continued to pet her Unicorn.

After a moment, it lowered itself. Smiling, Lux put her leg up and over, getting herself in a comfortable seating position after the Unicorn lifted itself up again. "Thank you." With a gentle tap of her heels against it, they were off.

Benny wished he could read what was going on in the creature's brain at the moment. But it wasn't like it was the first time he had wished this. It would be more than a little interesting to delve into the minds of many a magical beast. But really that wasn't his most important desire at the moment. That was for the unicorn before him to behave like some of the others he was seeing around them and allowing him to get on its back to ride back to the barnyard. That would be great right around now.

But the Gryffindor was waiting as patiently as he could, giving the majestic beast a slow gentle rub down as he did. "Come on...want to ride?" he asked again, mimicking towards the others to show what they would be doing. A few more moments had passed before finally, his charge made a move, adjusting his stance so Benny could climb aboard which the fifth year gingerly did.

Wow...another amazing experience.

He let the moment atop the unicorn play for a little bit before leaning down and whispering into the creature's ears. "Now let's go..." His mount taking the hint and starting off after the rest of them.

Ride around on a unicorn?! Ride around on a--

DEADPAN.

It sounded great and all but it also sounded like something he was gonna fail at. Why? Because he'd JUST about managed to get the creature to trust him, how long would it take for it to trust him enough to sit on its back while they raced back to the barnyard. It seemed like it was gonna fail already.

You know what? He was gonna do this and he was gonna look freaking fantastic while doing so. It was all about charm, after all, something that he had PLENTY of. So, clearing his throat, he turned his attention towards the unicorn and started petting it gently. "Have I ever told you how great you look today? MAN, you're looking younger and younger! You gotta tell me your secret." Wink.

This was so freaking embarrassing.

"Say, how about you give me a ride back to the barnyard and I'll give you some sugar cubes." Or whatever it was that Thompson had over there.

As they trotted back towards the Creature Housing, Lux wrapped her arms around the Unicorn's neck gently but with enough grip to keep her from falling off. Who knew they could be so fast. She knew they weren't going to win the race, but she honestly didn't care because it was so nice to just experience this.

Knowing Professor Thompson, the course was not the easiest and Lux encouraged her Unicorn friend as well as warned it of any upcoming obstacles. "Watch out for that tree branch," she cautioned before ducking underneath it. Gosh that would have really hurt and she did not want to have to go back to the Hospital Ward any time soon. "Good job! You are doing amazing!"

Straight inning in her seat, she tried to see how much further they had to go before the course was over.

Wait a minute did the professor say they needed to ride their unicorn? Ermm he was still letting his unicorn still get accustomed to him. It was still biting and licking his palm. I guess she or he loved the lotion on his hand. He grinned and wondered if the professor had any treats? He looked around and didn't see any. Welp now he needed to ask this new unicorn friend of his as Professor Thompson put it to let him ride it. It seemed too little to carry him but he was sure it was strong enough. He saw Lux feed treats to her unicorn and he finally found them. He wondered if he should move. He didn't wanna make any sudden movements though. He began to slowly retract his hand and said, "I will be right back..I am gonna give you treats.." he smiled and nodded. He walked away and came back with the treats. "Here you go fella." he coaxed the creature and it seemed to like them.

He grinned and asked, "Would you mind if I ride you back to the castle?" he asked. Now he awaited the creatures response. He or she was still eating so he would wait and probably ask again.

C'mon c'mon c'mon they were ALMOST there. So close she could TASTE it, except not really because barnyard didn't really sound like the best taste in the world. Barnyard ice cream? Not so pleasant sounding, which was really saying something because nearly anything could sound good as an ice cream flavor if y'asked her. Ahem. Anyways. UNICORN, YEAH. Norah pressed her heels a little more into the unicorn's sides until she was stable enough to lift both arms up all triumphantly as if she'd won a marathon or something. But then, "Branch!" She ducked down quickly to hug her arms around the creature's neck again. Okay then, maybe the triumphant thing wasn't such a good idea. Hugs were better any day though, especially unicorn ones, so really nothing lost there.

Once they were in sight of the hedges, the third year cried, "Right through there!" before lowering her voice slightly and saying, "You're so so good! Imma give you a bazillion treats if you want 'em," and burying her face in its silvery mane. Nobody said she was gonna be a good driver, okay, snuggles were much too distracting to let her keep her eyes on the path. She was caught by surprise when she heard a weird rustling, but by the time she'd lifted her head up it had already cleared. OH, the hedge. Smarty unicorn made its way through all by itself, and the two of them were back at the barnyard already. "Thanks for the ride," Norah said before burying her face in the silvery mane once more. She could at least hug it 'till the rest of the class got there, right? "You're the bestest unicorn in the universe. Just sayin'.

So Angel had to ride the unicorn back to the castle, she had to get the unicorn to let her ride it back? Couldn't she just run away and hide, she didn't like the sound of riding a unicorn, what would the unicorn do? How was she supposed to know? She had a feeling her sister was going to love it though.

Angel looked at the unicorn. "Fancy giving me a lift back please." Angel looked at the unicorn, then decided that she would give it a nice stroke on the back, and look all cute. "It would be fun wouldn't it." Angel smiled politely, hoping that her charming skills were still up to scratch.