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Divination Lesson; dendromancy in the Forbidden Forest
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Jade arrived at the stump a little before noon for her Divination lesson. Even after a month of classes, she was not sure how she felt about the subject. It was... interesting, though she was very confused most of the time. "Hello," she greeted Thereos with a smile, before she took a look around. Her dark brown eyes lit up when she saw the bowl filled with colourful flowers. Oooh, were they doing something with flowers today? They were so pretty! At the centaur's instructions, she carefully picked two of the most beautiful flowers and - oh. Uhhhhh, okay. She quickly returned one to the bowl, pretending that she had never picked it up in the first place; if they were to CONSUME these flowers, she'd only take one, thank you. And so Jade took the time to get acquainted with her flower. It was violet - that is, the colour was purple - the petals were soft, they felt fragile and she took care to be very gentle with her touch. She raised it to her nose and smelled it, it had a pleasant fragrance to it, not too intense. Now to move on to the final sense. She could not help but chuckle slightly, realising that what she was doing was... really weird. Like, way beyond the normal Divination weird-weird. She took one last look at her flower and slipped it into her mouth. It tasted bitter at first, the texture unfamiliar on her tongue. Then there came the first wave of floral flavour and she was mildly surprised by how much she liked it. Curious, she continued to focus on the flower on her tongue and allowed the flavour to fill her mouth. After a while, she swallowed the flower and smiled slightly, half out of amusement, but half because really, that was quite a nice experience. |
Although, divination was a little low on her list when it came to electives, Missa just wanted to do this because their teacher was going to be a centaur. Furthermore, when she found out they were going to have a class near the forbidden forest - she couldn't be MORE EXCITED. Because if they were going to be near it, who is to say they might not visit it too? It was certainly on her invisible list of things to do before her Hogwarts time came to an end. She greeted Thereos when she neared the stump, and passed him a pleasant smile - before getting on with his instructions. They were weird, but ... if she was doing this - she might as well do this as thoroughly as possible. She picked two flowers, the ones that seemed striking to her the most - before finding herself a spot. And then slowly she bit into them, sensing and savouring them. |
For the girl that usually wore skirts to classes, Hanna felt strange in the pants she was currently wearing. The only pants she would usually wear were stretchy for dance. These were not. Still, pants were the least of her worries as she approached the Divination class by the Forest. She didn't particularly find Divination a subject which was enjoyable, but had decided to continue with it. Although, to her pleasant surprise, Divination taught by a Centaur felt much more reliable than when it was taught by humans. Hanna approached the gathering students, nodding a greeting. "Hello Professor." |
Sammy had grabbed two flowers at random. Finding a spot to linger, out of the way, until the lesson began. While he didn’t particularly enjoy this class he didn't hate it either. And he did enjoy the opportunity to learn from a centaur. He looked around the space, noticing the three Ravenclaw girls. Was he going to be the only guy here? He listened the professor waxing on about slowing down and savoring things. He wondered if this lesson was going to be anything like a yoga class that his mom liked to take. He opened his palm to find an arugula flower and lavender. Interesting choices – if you were going to make a salad. He decided to start with the arugula flower. Popping it into his mouth, he was met with a burst of pepper. Bleck – he made a face, but kept chewing. |
Kaiser had his hands shoved deep into his pockets as he approached the stump at the edge of the forbidden forest, eyes on the ground before him. When he reached the site of the lesson, he stopped and looked up at their centaur professor. "Morn- uh..." Wait. He paused, and thought about it. The lesson started at noon, and it was still a few minutes before, so... yes, technically, he wasn't wrong. "Morning." Uh... flowers? Eat the flowers? Kaiser was no picky eater, but that sounded like a strange request. He cast a curious look at the others who were already present and following said instructions, then took a single flower out of the bowl for himself. Feeling just a little unsure, he found himself a space to wait for the lesson to begin, and started working on... becoming acquainted with the flower. |
Avalon was still getting used to the fact that wands weren't allowed in divination lessons. She felt odd without it. It was a safety net for her, and she had gotten so used to carrying it around that the emptiness in her palm was still alarming. She trudged into the forest, looking curiously at the centaur and the strange bowl on the stump beside him. "Hello, Professor," she said, greeting her teacher with a pleasant smile. She listened to his instructions, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in confusion. They were supposed to eat flowers? That was certainly an interesting task. She waited for a few students to eat their own before she reached into the bowl and plucked out a light blue flower. Avalon took a deep breath, trying to "experience" the flower with all of her senses. But she couldn't seem to focus. This seemed a bit silly. And she didn't want to eat it! She couldn't imagine that it would taste very good. Hesitantly, she raised the flower to her nose and sniffed. It smelled like....a flower. Alright, maybe she should get on with tasting it. She placed the petals on her tongue and tried to relax as the flavor melted into her mouth. Avalon was pleasantly surprised to taste sweetness, coupled with a bit of citrus. It was quite delicious! |
Tina made her way to the edge of the forest, curious what her favorite subject would have in store today. She spotted their centaur teacher standing beside a stump and gave him a respectful nod in greeting. “Good-” she began. At first she planned to say “good morning”, but that didn't sound right. The morning was pretty much over, but it wasn't technically afternoon either. “Good day,” she said. Yeah, couldn't go wrong with that! She smiled a little to herself as her dark eyes were drawn to the brightly colored flowers in the bowl. Was there some method of predicting the future that used flowers? That would be interesting! No… apparently they were supposed to eat them instead. Tina blinked at the strange instructions, but she did as she was told. She trusted there must be a reason behind it, though she had to admit, she was curious what that reason was! She chose the two brightest flowers to catch her eye and examined them closely. The larger one was a sunny yellow color and had a smooth, almost waxy feel to the touch. The other flower was white with pink around the outer edges, smaller than the first, and the petals had more rounded edges. The smaller flower also had a lighter. almost powdery feel. She sniffed each flower in turn. They both had a floral scent, but the white flower's smell was stronger. Now came the weird part… actually eating the flowers. Tina started with the yellow flower. She popped it into her mouth, savoring the taste. It was a light, fruity flavor that reminded her of peaches. The flower slowly dissolved on her tongue. Only when it was completely gone did she consume the other flower, and she was taken aback by the sharp contrast in flavor. This one had a stronger, more biting taste that was vaguely reminiscent of cinnamon. When she was finished eating, she looked up to await further instructions. |
we have officially begun our Divination journey together here Selecting a nasturtium for himself, Thereos took a moment to admire its brightly colored and welcoming visual. Very reminiscent of the way Mars had looked not two days ago. The silky quality of the petals reminded him of the gentle caress of a spring breeze which, if the stars and embers from last nights meal were speaking the truth, he would not be feeling against his flank until much later this school term. SPOILER!!: students, Jupiter ascends in your favor Lifting his head skyward a moment before trotting out from under the shade of the trees and into the warm autumn sunlight, Thereos gave his shadow a pensive inspection before pivoting around and galloping back towards his stump. "Mr. Kaiser. If you have not done so already I suggest you allow your mouth and other sense to become acquainted with that flower," he encouraged as his hooves struck the ground beside the boy. "Let us begin," his voice boomed as he clapped his strong hands together thrice to draw any lingering attentions back to himself. "Today's lesson will be held in the depths of the Forbidden Forest. For your own safety, I must implore you all to maintain a lack of hubbub and mold your voices into a respectful quiet and calm tone at all times. The Forest knows you are coming and has bestowed upon you its permission, do not disrespect nor disappoint." It was a warning he would be giving only once. "Now, younglings, I need you all to follow me. Flank my sides and remain within touching distance of my hide or the hand of someone who is as we proceed down the destined path into the Forest." Thereos allowed them a moment to gather closer before unceremoniously beginning his casual stroll towards the edge of the woods and hesitated not as his hooves crossed the threshold and waited until the group was under the canopy of leaves and branches before continuing his instruction in manner that made it feel as though he were affectionately serenading the class. "Now that some essence of the natural world rests in your bellies, its taste lingering on your human tongues, look to the trees as we proceed on our journey together and listen to the leaves as they whisper their truths. Tell me, what do they tell you of our purpose here today?" OOC: Class has officially begun! Thank you for joining us. |
He wasn't at all surprised that they were going in to the forbidden forest for the lesson. Was he a fan of it? No. Definitely not. Why couldn't they have a lesson which did not involve going in to a forbidden place. But like always, Dorian didn't dare to defy a Professor and he followed without any verbal complaint. The warnings were listened to and noted but he knew that they were more directed to some others than to him. He had always been silent The way the centaur spoke had confused him the first few classes but after a while he thought he got the hang of the basics. The trees and leaves were whispering to turn back and never return but that might have been his own wishful thinking. How deep in to the forest were they going to go anyway? He had no idea what they were going to learn today but as long as they weren't going to hug and whisper back to the trees he was okay. |
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She had finished seeing, smelling and touching her flower and had just popped it into her mouth when the centaur began the lesson. She followed at a safe distance, trying to mindfully chew her flower while also taking note of her surroundings. When instructed, she looked at the trees around her and listened to the leaves. ... They didn't tell her ANYTHING. She bet the trees didn't even CARE why they were here today. But she could pretend that she heard something from the leaves and just... take a guess. After swallowing her second flower, Jade raised her hand. "Will we be studying Xylomancy today?" She said, in a quieter-than-usual voice. Gotta respect the Forest. |
It had been a few weeks since classes had started, but did that mean that Archer was used to the confusing way in which Thereos spoke? Absolutely not. She did learn after a few lessons to keep her humor and amusement to herself, as the centaur didn't appreciate it at all. Shame. Basically, she was up a creek without a whole freaking canoe. Well, that wasn't completely correct. She did understand the warning about the forest. But she decided to take up the back of the forest-going crowd for 'prefect reasons'. Or that's what she'd say if asked, anyway. It definitely wasn't because the forest creeped her out a little. |
Just for the record, as someone who couldn't always follow the language of a regular class, Kaiser struggled tenfold in Divination. He supposed that whatever Thereos was saying was really important and probably profound, but it was rare that he could listen to an entire sentence without becoming utterly lost. Apparently, he wasn't alone in these struggles, according to some of his friends, but he couldn't help but feel that he might have had fewer problems if English was his first language. Hearing his name, Kaiser looked up from the flower he was still intently looking at, and watched the centaur as he passed. It took him... a moment, but eventually he figured he was being instructed to hurry up and eat the flower already. He nodded, and slipped it into his mouth. Tasting and savouring and trying to appreciate but mostly just noticing that it didn't exactly taste wonderful... but then, what had he been expecting? Sooooo... the forest, then. Kaiser kept his face expressionless and didn't betray any sort of reaction to this news, but privately he wondered exactly how wise this was. Hogwarts students were not exactly known for their tendency to keep out of danger at the best of times. Still, he made no argument, and followed Thereos and the rest of the group up to and inside the forest. Oh... wait. A question. "Uhhh..." Kaiser said as they walked, still with the flower in his mouth. He swallowed it, grimaced slightly, and cast around for something to say. "... Divination...?" Not even a remotely sarcastic answer; that was their purpose here today, right? |
Uhh… All Tina could do was blink dumbly at Thereos's warning. That didn't sound like her at all! She always showed restraint in her lessons. She put careful thought into her answers before she spoke, always raised her hand, and didn't repeat other people's answers. And since when was she ever sociable? For a brief moment, she wondered if he might have her confused with another student, but she reminded herself that he was the the teacher for a reason. There must be some truth to his words, even if she didn't see it yet. She listened closely to the instructions given and followed the professor and other students into the forest, keeping within touching distance as she was told, though she had no intention of actually touching anybody. Just the idea made her cringe! But hopefully there would be no need for that… She put the thought out of her mind as she considered the question asked, trying to get the gist from the series of confusing words. Okay, so they were supposed to find the purpose of the lesson by listening to the leaves? That was… unexpected. Tina stood still and silent. listening intently to the leaves rustling, but all she heard was… leaves. No special meaning, no nothing! Maybe something Thereos said would give her a clue instead. He'd specifically mentioned leaves… leaves, leaves, that was it! Tina suddenly remembered reading something about phyllomancy, specifically a branch of divination using sounds made from dry leaves. That sounded exactly like what they'd just been asked to do! She wanted to raise her hand but stopped herself just in time, remembering the earlier advice to show restraint. Did that mean she shouldn't show off her knowledge? She wasn't sure, but she wasn't taking any chances! It was taking all her willpower not to give an answer, especially one she was so confident about, but she kept quiet so as to let others have a chance to guess. |
we've been here the whole time :3 Maeve ordinarily would have not bothered with Divination Lessons because she found the subject to be awfully dull and cheesy. But upon hearing that the lessons would be taught by a CENTAUR this term, which meant they would be held on the grounds as opposed to the stuffy divination tower, the sixth year couldn't resist. Plus they got to EAT flowers; like how bad could it be when he started a lesson with edible flowers? A lesson that was going to be held in the forbidden forest. EXCITING Eagerly walking alongside, she almost bumped into the person she was walking behind at the sudden stopping under a leaf canopy. Fortunately she caught herself, stabling her balance against a nearby tree. She glanced around at the trees as the centaur spoke and frowned. Yea, this was why she didn't study Divination normally. "It's gonna rain?" Wasn't Divination used to predict the future and well, they were in a forest. |
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She trudged along as Thereos led the class further into the forest, trying to make sense of his odd language. Avalon thought that he always spoke as if he was reading a poem. It was quite fascinating, to be honest, but frustrating nonetheless - she frequently had trouble understanding him. She figured that he was asking what nature might have to do with their lesson today, and the responses from a few of her classmates confirmed her suspicion. Was there a branch of divination that dealt with flowers? Trees? Bushes? She didn't really know, other than recalling her dad talking about wizards burning herbs to tell the future. She decided to keep quiet, as she wasn't quite sure of the answer. |
SPOILER!!: students The very path beneath the centaur's hooves began to widen as the group approached an expansive crooked grove deep within the Forbidden Forest. "This is a sacred place to centaurs," he explain in a grave tone, one that they should all be familiar with by now when it came to showing respect and honoring their surroundings. Surprisingly pleasant and bright despite how far they had walked, there was almost a calming quality to their surroundings and even Thereos' broad shoulders began to relax. "These trees here will be our guides today. In a heart of a tree there is no apprehension, no wish to fall, no wish to sleep and awaken. Tree groves such as these are the first temples. Between every two is a doorway hinged to our life and the natural order of the universe. Today you will be learning how to harness these energies." Trotting forward a few more paces, Thereos stopped suddenly when his hooves nearly stepped on a small sapling growing forth from the ground. ".....how curious. Mercury is retrograde..." he observed as he circled it twice before coming to a stop, facing the students, and dug a symbol in the ground beside the sapling. "The sapling is one with the natural order of the universe. It to wants what life wills, to become a tree. Tell me, saplings of the Hogwarts castle, what natural order and rituals have brought you here on this path to Hogwarts? The path towards the larger journey of becoming a witch or wizard? Those greenest in their journey have the freshest of memories. What will have you with this core essence of your being?" OOC: Thank you for sticking with us and welcome to those joining us a little late! This is the final question before we get into the activity sections of the lesson. |
Been here the entire time! <3 Divination was not one of her best classes but here she was arriving at the grove of trees well into the Forbidden Forest with the rest of class. Having consumed a rather lovely lilac colored flower was by far not the best part of this lesson. Her deep love of flowers and plants had made it seem strange to consume one at first and she had taken a few long moments studying her flower, almost as if holding a silent conversation with it. Once she had laid it upon her tongue and chewed and swallowed there was a rather pleasant taste to it that reminded her of being home. The first question that had been asked went on unanswered by the fifth year simply because she had been a little to focused on watching where it was she was going and what was near her. Stopping in the grove was nice. Rylee looked around taking in all that she could from her surroundings. As Thereos spoke everything was mentally stored away in her head. Or well... at least what she understood, anyhow. Pondering over his question for several moments she lifted her hand until she was called upon. "When I was really little it was mostly little things that showed my family I was indeed magical, making a stuffed creature float to me or turning on music in my home so I could. I went onto wizarding primary school and received my Hogwarts letter on my eleventh birthday." Rylee paused to take a breath before continuing, "I want to become a Herbologist. I have a very deep love of flowers, plants, trees and nature in general." |
At that response, Kaiser sent a sideways glance at the centaur, eyes narrowed slightly, but continued silently picking his way along the path, following along with the rest of the group. When they reached what seemed to be their destination, Kaiser had a good look around at the grove, but most of his concentration was devoted to deciphering Thereos' words. His face was screwed up slightly in concentration as he listened, but, from what he could gather, it didn't seem like this was a question he wanted to answer. He supposed the details of his path or journey might have been interesting to share or even just to allude to, but Kaiser was also a very guarded and private person. The prospect of sharing anything from his past, or even his hopes for his future, just seemed far too personal. With that in mind, he kept his mouth shut and his answer firmly to himself. |
Avalon gazed up at the trees, engrossed by the beauty of the forest. She was grateful that the weather was nice today. It would have been dreadful to have class in the cold or rain. Thereos's voice was calming as he explained the purpose of trees in their lesson today. They were going to harness the energies of plants? That certainly sounded....interesting. And what was that strange symbol Thereos drew in the ground? Divination always was a confusing class, but now the centaur was adding in eating flowers and drawing bizarre symbols? Or maybe it was a rune? Nevertheless, Avalon listened and tried to piece together his next question. She figured that he was encouraging the younger students to speak up, by comparing them to being the "greenest" (youngest) of the saplings. She raised her hand. "When I was little, I used to want to be an auror. I thought it was such a noble job. But then I discovered how much I love learning and teaching. Even as a kid, I would teach my little cousins all about the things I learned at primary school. I want to become a professor. I'm not sure what subject yet, but teaching at Hogwarts is my dream. And getting my education here is certainly the first step," she said with a smile. |
Hanna nodded once at Thereos' request not to address him with Professor. Noted. But it was going to be way more difficult to stop the automatic Professor that came out before a name. Hanna did not want to go into the Forbidden Forest. There were a lot of animals in there, some that were big, and some TOO big. Even the ones smaller than she were still very frightening. But, seeing as they were accompanied by Thereos she hoped it would be safe enough. Even with the permission. With dread she approached the hide of Thereos and followed him. His words left no meaning in her mind. What was he even asking? Hanna remained silent as a few others spoke, heading deeper into the Forest. The area they approached was beautiful, but the content in Thereos' words... not so much. Hanna had little idea of what he was saying. What natural order and rituals have brought you here on this path to Hogwarts? Well... her mother and father were a witch and wizard. Hanna was a Witch. They went to Hogwarts, and Hanna was accepted. But that probably wasn't the answer he wanted, considering there were few other ways into this castle as a student if you weren't a witch or wizard. He didn't need a crystal ball to know that. |
Austin was glad they were outside. He liked being outside. As for the forest. Well...it was a little crerpy but he had a funny idea. Thereos had been confusing when he talked all night so Austin didn't have an answer for those questions as for this one... "I...I have a hard time..." Austin sighed as he tried to say the words outloud. He took a breath and let it out again. "I just...have a hard time talking. In most situations. My, my dad said I should be homeschooled. I, I told him I didn't want to. I wanted to go to magic school. Like everyone else." Wow that was a lot to say. Austin was glad he was able to get it all out. |
Wait. Oh so it wasn't going to rain? Maeve was bored and trying really hard to not show it, as the centaur instructed her about broadening her understanding and sight. So okay that wasn't what he'd been asking and if Chase or Anna was there, she'd probably a rambling motion with her hand, but instead she simply nodded silently at the centaur. Sacred place for centaurs. Sooo did today's class involve bowtruckles too? But apparently that was a tangent and Thereos didn't seem like the type to sway from the subject matter. Watching him curiously as he circled and showed the sapling he then posed to them another question. Natural order of the universe. Was he .... talking about the circle of life? Or ...?? "Showing signs of magic by doing something out of the ordinary... and eventually getting a letter offering us a place at Hogwarts? To hone our magic and be useful members of society?" Or was she completely off-topic again? |
At first Tina thought she knew what branch of divination they would be studying, but now she wasn't so sure. The more she listened to Thereos, the more confused she became! Something about the heart of a tree and a doorway to the natural order of the universe… So were they learning phyllomancy today or not? With a vague explanation like that, it sounded like it could go either way. At least the next question wasn't difficult to understand… just difficult to answer. Once again, Tina remained silent. She didn't like sharing details about her past. How did she know someone here wouldn't one day use her history against her? Besides, it wasn't exactly a happy story. Her journey to Hogwarts was different than most. It started off fairly normal… She displayed signs of magical talent at an early age, and her dad was so proud of her! She knew then that she wanted to study magic so he'd stay proud of her, and she eventually got her acceptance letter from Beauxbatons. But her journey from Beauxbatons to Hogwarts was anything but normal! Suffice it to say, there was a lot of betrayal and lies involved. The other part of the question was easier to answer, but Tina's answer wasn't like anything the others had said so far. The thing she wanted to accomplish in life wasn't so much a specific career goal; it was more an ideal. She always knew she wanted to use her talents to help others, but her experience at Beauxbatons made her want something else too. What she wanted most out of life was vindication, both for herself and others who had been badly wronged. |
The pregnant silence that followed was like that of an elephant and for a moment Thereos became concerned that he had made a mistake in bringing students to this hallowed tapestry. Though as soon as hands, timid as some may have been, began raising the centaur felt validated in his reading of the smoke from the sage. SPOILER!!: students His thick tail swishing and fanning his backside, Thereos permitted his eyes to scan his saplings once more before speaking. "Many of you spoke of the first manifestations of magic, levitating stuffed creatures..." He could not help but trail off here. How barbaric a practice, taking creatures and stuffing them to then be paraded around as a human play thing. Perhaps the changing perception of wizards was misguided by centaurkind? "...the receiving of your Hogwarts letter, the first formal documentation of your fate and path...but it was Miss Walsh whom touched on something vital, the honing of your magic. The honing of your core essence of your being." All would become clear soon. Thereos, for all his whimsy, did have a methodology. "This is something that your kind and mine have in common and both utilize forests such as these. Alder, blackthorn, cypress, elder, fir, hornbeam, oak, spruce, and vine...all are examples of the gifts the natural world bestow upon you and are wielded in your very hands. Wands..." The word came out with much disdain on his pleasant tongue. "...have certain vibrations unique to each witch and wizard. Many moons ago, ten turns around the sun thus, I taught a lesson here at Hogwarts about a rite of passage for centaurkind, the receiving of our first bows. Wand is to wizard as bow is to centaur. Each of you, right now, has your own portal with nature opened. Unlike you, however, centaurs are able to commune with the raw energies and vibrations of all woods...though strongest energies happen to coincide with those also harnessed for wands... whereas you must have them activated or invoked as is seen with wands and runes." He paused here, allowing these thoughts to sink into the impressionable minds of his pupils. "However, with today's mindfulness exercises you performed in the floral consumption and tree observation while walking here, there is an increased chance that today you will be bestowed the ability to commune better despite your human limitations." This was far too much speaking for the centaur's liking, but onward he pressed. "Today you will be performing dendromancy, a method of divining using the leaves and branches of trees. While human fallacy has traditional limited the practice to mistletoe and oak, the minds and energy flows among us today have been rejuvenated and the inner portals opened. Your first task is to match yourself with a tree found in this temple. Approach it, hug its trunk, and breathe deeply for three breaths to sync your essence with its own. Listen to its leaves for whispers of its acceptance of you, feel the vibrations beat beneath its bark. Sit beneath your tree of choice and with your finger to the earth, draw this symbol in the ground before you," he instructed while using his right hoof to draw a symbol large enough for all to see with ease composed of three lines in the ground in front of him. "... and wait with your palms pressed over it like so...your dominate hand pressed to the earth." Bending his strong legs, Thereos folded his hind once under his rump soon followed by his front so that he knelt on the ground. Eyes on his two-legged students, he then placed his right hand to the ground first followed by the left atop it. "...like so. You have ten minutes. You may begin opening your minds and allowing the essence of the forest in. Be mindful and above all else respectful. Do not fight the natural elements while making your selection." OOC: we have arrived at the mini activity! To reiterate, your character is to walk around the grove of trees and find one 'suitable' to their liking. Then they need to draw the same symbol in the ground and sit beneath their tree of choice. |
Honestly, she really hadn't wanted to go into what brought her to Hogwarts with what were basically acquaintances and strangers. Yes, her parents' divorce was amicable, but that still didn't mean it was something to be talked about in a classroom setting, sorry. "So we're literally, not figuratively, going to be tree huggers?" she blurted out with a chuckle. Sorry, Thereos, that had just come out. Oops. But he did realize what what he just said sounded like to human ears, right? Surely centaurs did possess that much self-awareness. Then again, he had thought it okay to ask such a personal question before. Anyway, she approached a tree that had a small branch sprouting a couple of feet above her own head and wrapped her arms around it, laughing quietly the whole time. Yes, she knew she was supposed to be breathing deeply, but she couldn't help herself. Literally being a tree-hugger. *laugh* |
Rylee very well knew she could have given more information about her reason for attending Hogwarts. Why, though? What she had given had been enough even if she had left out the mention of her wand which was being touched upon right now as Thereos spoke. Sure it was important but so was a lot of things. Like that hint of a smile on Thereos lips when she spoke of wanting to go into Herbology. His words were curious that much was for sure and her attention was instantly caught. She was meant to select a tree of her choice. One that called to her and... hug it. She could handle that. Drawing a symbol and laying her hands upon the earth in front of her was easy enough too. It was with a sure foot that Rylee walked around the grove of trees. Letting her feet show her where to go, she found herself standing before a decently large sized tree with branches galore and leaves the rustled in the soft breeze as if beckoning her closer to it. A light smile tugged at her lips as she wrapped her arms around the tree trunk and breathed in deeply. Whether or not she looked silly didn't bother her in the slightest. Inhaling deeply again the breath was let out slow and followed by one more nice deep breath. Dropping her arms from around the tree trunk, Rylee suppressed the urge to giggle. Sitting down beneath her chosen tree she touched the pointer finger of her left hand to the dirt and drew the symbol they had been meant to draw. Pressing her left hand to the ground over the symbol she than laid her right hand upon her left. Now... to wait. |
Tense. Nervous. Edgy. Unsettled. The bowtruckles living this deep in the forest were particularly so as of late. Awoken from their afternoon slumbers by the unwanted voices of strangers, they crept cautiously through the branches of the great trees and peered combatively downwards. Still not visible and fluidly camouflaged from those dwelling on the ground, the leaves rustled pleasantly. No different than the sound of an autumn wind through the branches. |
They were supposed to....hug a tree? Was Thereos being serious? This was certainly strange. She watched as a classmate approached a tree and wrapped her arms around it. Nobody said anything or laughed. Apparently he was being serious. Avalon restrained herself from rolling her eyes as she circled around their spot in the forest to find a tree. She found a medium-sized one, with a smooth looking bark and leaves that seemed to gleam in the sunlight. What kind of tree it was, she had no idea. Avalon was not very well-versed in the area of botany. She reached out and touched her palm to the trunk of the tree. She honestly didn't know if she could bring herself to hug it. That was just too odd for her. But Thereos was watching, and she didn't want to come across as rude or unwilling. Swallowing her pride, she tentatively wrapped her arms around the tree, taking three very quick, but still deep, breaths. Thank goodness that part was over. Avalon plopped down under the tree, resting her head back against the bark. She had to admit, it did feel nice to sit outside and be in sync with nature. With her right hand, she reached down to the dirt and attempted to draw the symbol, whatever it meant. But one of the lines was lopsided. No, that just wouldn't do. She brushed her hand back over it, turning her design back into dust, before trying again. After she had her symbol drawn to her liking, Avalon followed Thereos's instructions and hovered her hand over it. This was an odd lesson indeed. |
Huh? So he had gained 3 points just for eating the flower? Cool…they were the first points he had ever earned. He finished chewing the arugula flower, swallowed and then popped lavender buds into his mouth. The professor was right, it did sooth his pallet and got rid of the peppery taste. He followed along quietly as they wandered through the forest, trying to avoid the girls in the group, but also following the instructions to stay close enough to keep contact. Upon entering the grove, he got a little distracted. When the professor began talking he turned to pay attention and just kinda stood, open mouthed trying to understand. His face took on a goofy look, eyes narrowed. Was he even speaking English? It wasn’t Russian, because Sammy would have been able to follow that too. Nope… Bows…wands…runes…flower eating… Was he expected to eat another flower? He had just finished the lavender one. Wait…hug…a…tree… Ok, well he understood that. He squinted up into the trees, looking for squirrels and other creatures that might try to bonk him on the head with nuts or other things. He wandered around and found himself stopping in front of a big maple. He paused looked up, then down, then around, and finally walked up to the tree. Feeling stupid he put his palms against the tree and pressed his face up against the bark. How long was he supposed to do this for? His eyes roamed around and after what felt like a safe enough time, he pulled away and sat down. He doodled the mark into the ground and leaned back putting his weight on his hands. His eyes drifted up into the tree’s leaves. He suddenly had the urge to whistle… |
Although Gunnar had been tempted to drop this class at the beginning of the year since he hadn't been planning on taking it at NEWT level and thought about not even taking the OWL exam for this subject, he somehow couldn't resist being taught by a centaur. He was rather interested in creatures and beasts in general, and was curious about the viewpoint from the centaur for reasons pertaining to his future. But he was sure he could still drop it if it ended up being more extraneous than he hoped. And so here he was, eating a flower. Gunnar supposed he could see the irony in that, considering his aspirations in creature nutrition. But he was trying to keep an open mind. Following Thereos and his classmates into the forest, the fifteen year old kept silent for the most part. While that was partly due to him appreciating having class in the forbidden forest and enjoying nature as it was, he was mostly just listening and trying to decipher what the centaur was saying. It was like trying to figure out riddles, honestly, but it was still sort of fascinating. Open mind, right? Uh... okay, right... find a tree. Gunnar wasn't exactly sure which tree he was supposed to select, whether it was completely at random or if there was one that was supposed to, uh... call to him or something. He glanced around at some of his classmates to see how they were selecting their trees, and he just decided to walk forward and picked the one closest to his path. Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around the slender trunk and pressed the side of his face to it, breathing in slowly several times. He didn't feel any different or sense anything really, but he did notice a little rusting of the wind through the leaves. And then... what was it? He pulled away from the tree and glanced over at the ground where Thereos drew that symbol to make sure his matched. Taking a seat on the ground beneath his tree, he stuck his finger in the dirt and marked out a similar symbol before placing his right hand over it and his left hand on top of that. Okay then. |
Missa wasn't sure what to think of the lesson so far, it was different than anything she had experienced before - part of her even wondered if there was something MIXED with the flowers, and if that meant they'd be .... not really themselves for the rest of the lesson. But her excitement was still there, because just as she had hoped - they were walking into to the forbidden forest, and with a centaur. It was ...wild. The tone of the entire thing wasn't as dangerous as she'd hoped it to be, but it was still something. Listening to the professor, her hand moved to touch the trees which passed them by - wondering what could be done to surpass these human limitations he spoke of. She wished Eiji had been there, discussing this with him - seemed like the perfect thing, though she could already see him rolling his eyes at everything the professor was saying - maybe after class she could find him - it could also be a reason to not avoid him all that much anymore. Before she could entirely lose whatever the professor was saying, with her own train of thought - she saw Gunnar hugging a tree. And then she saw almost everyone ... doing the same. What in the world - - oh they were hugging a tree, actually hugging a tree. Somewhere Eiji was definitely rolling his eyes. - she looked at the professor, questioningly, "are we sure they won't resist us further when they realise it's a human hugging them?" she asked, as she approached a tree and looked up at it. "I mean - would they want the same kind of connection with us that they have with you?" |
Peering and pushing through the leaves, the bowtruckles looked down in horror as the humans approached their trees. Their homes. Chittering and chattering their sharp teeth at one another, they formulated a new plan of attack. One that would hopefully work better than the last time their Home Trees had been threatened a few days prior. Scattering through the branches and rustling them more viciously, several bowtruckles took their positions over the humans while some collected acorns and took careful aim... |
Austin nodded. He was glad this was a class where silence was welcomed. And encouraged. Thank you Thereos. Austin had found his tree. He drew the symbol. He couldn't help but hear a sound. Shuffling of leaves. He glanced up and saw a dozen or so botruckles. Austin backed away. He didn't want to be attacked. Even if they were tiny. And he didn't want to disturb their home. |
What was... that look? Kaiser wasn't too sure he liked it, and he found himself avoiding looking into the centaur's eyes, instead directing his gaze back down at the little symbol that had been dug into the ground beside the sapling. Just for something to look at. He was relieved when the lesson moved on, and he could look at Thereos again, but that relief was cut short by the realisation that he had to go back to deciphering his words once again. Wands. Wood. Bows. Trees. Right... riiiiight... Kaiser was... sort of following. Kind of. Well, actually, his attention was wandering, as Thereos' words kind of washed over him. It wasn't until those around him started moving off towards the trees that he realised they had been given an activity. Preferring not to ask the centaur to repeat his instructions, Kaiser decided to watch what neighbouring students were doing instead, so that he could follow suit. Mostly that involved approaching and hugging a tree, which... well, okay. Then there was that business with the symbol. Basically, nothing too taxing. Picking a tree at random that hadn't yet been claimed, Kaiser approached, head tilted slightly as he considered it. He closed the distance, ready to put his arms around it and hug it - though not knowing exactly why he was doing so, thanks to his wandering concentration during the instructions - when a furious rustling from up above caught his attention. Curious, he peered up into the branches, but initially saw nothing but twigs and foliage. Kaiser stood there staring for a moment, frowning slightly, and was about to lower his gaze again when, like noticing an optical illusion, he realised exactly what he was looking at. Those weren't twigs. "Woah," Kaiser said, stepping back quickly away from the tree and raising his hands as though in surrender. Uhhh... |
That did it. As soon as the one human [Felixir] raised his hands and elongated his form, the bowtruckles knew they were under siege once again. So an acorn was thrown, two for that matter, at the boy [Felixir] and another few leaped from the branches down upon a girl [Samia] and boy [Krel Ansell] as they gave their menacing battle cries of speech. Several more scampered down the trunk of the tree behind another human [Fireheart] and charging at her while a few branched off and made their way towards two others [emjay & 2111jen] and launched acorns at them as well. Their sharp teeth clattering viciously. Not again! Not today! |
Text Cut: Bowtruckles! Acorns. Squeaky squeals. And suddenly Bowtrucklers were crawling all over the place. At least it wasn’t squirrels. Sammy didn’t really move. He kept his hands on the ground and his knees crossed in front of him. He knew Bowtruckles could bite and pinch and scratch, but as long as they stayed away from his face, he’d let them be. Maybe they’d see his passivity and calm down. Or maybe this was part of the ‘not fighting’ and ‘being respectful’ with nature that the professor had been talking about. He was still fighting the urge to whistle. |
Austin jumped back from the accorns and shook his head at the botruckles. He wasn't there to hurt them. |
Okay, uhhhh... uhhhhhhhhhh... Kaiser did not sign up for this. As one acorn pelted him square in the forehead and another thwacked him in the ear, Kaiser hurriedly backed further away from the tree that the creatures were clearly trying to protect. He was not about to risk life and limb in the name of Divination, thank you very much. Having put a little distance between himself and the tree, Kaiser turned, following the noises of the other bowtruckles, only to find them charging at his classmates. Not good? Not good. He looked to Thereos, hoping the centaur would know what they were supposed to do in this situation. Kaiser's vote was on a tactical retreat back to the castle, sooner rather than later. |
SPOILER!!: Bowtruckles Avalon had just started to relax under her tree when she heard a faint rustling in the leaves. She glanced behind her just in time to see several green things rushing down the tree trunk. Her eyes widened in surprise as she sprung to her feet and hurried several meters away. What were those things? Her grandfather had told her all about magical creatures, and she had definitely seen these before in books, but she couldn't quite remember the name of them. Stick-like, green, but sort of angry-looking. And why in the world were they chasing her? She quickly scanned the area for Thereos. Hopefully he could tell them what to do. |
So there she was one minute, hugging her tree with all the amusement in the world, about to let go and do the whole drawing the symbol in the dirt thing. Then, all of a sudden, some of her classmates were being attacked by bowtruckles. Archer's reaction? To laugh even harder while letting go of her own tree, while not making the same mistake as TSOT (that Slytherin over there) (Kaiser). Good prefect behavior? Probably not, but sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself. Or others, as the case may be. |
It was strange. As Gunnar sat beneath his chosen tree with his hands covering the marking on the ground, he felt like he became better attuned to the sounds and atmosphere around him. But what was even stranger was the fact that it sounded like the wind was picking up and rustling harder through the leaves, but he didn't actually feel any wind. He looked up at Kaiser as he heard him and gave him a quizzical look. What was wrong that he was looking up at the tree like that? He turned his head to look up at the leaves and was just about to ask him when he saw several acorns flying out of the trees, raining down on his classmates as well as himself. "Wait.. hold up," he said to his unknown assailants, covering his head with his arm before scrambling to his feet and trying to move out of firing distance. He even caught a couple of the acorns and pocketed them before trying to peer at the leaves from where he was standing. "Oh! Bowtruckles.... right? But why are they attacking us?" He glanced over at Thereos. They only did that when they felt threatened, didn't they? And he didn't really think the class was being too disruptive. But he was really curious about it. |
From her place on the ground, hands still pressed gently against the earth upon the drawn symbol, Rylee remained. Normally sitting somewhere and remaining completely still and quiet wasn't something she was capable of for very long. Unless it involved creatures or nature of some sort that is. Oh, and Quidditch... but even with that she got to move around eventually especially while playing Beater. So perhaps that didn't count. Rylee kept calm and relaxed, inhaling slow breaths that were let out even more slowly. There was a gentle rustling over leaves above her head which at first didn't concern her in the least. She was meant to be focusing on the sound of the leaves and the tree under which she was sat. Become one with nature, listen to everything around her. The wind was picking up however and that surely wasn't the sound of the trees communicating with her right now. No, leaves didn't sound like that. The chattering was rather loud but it wasn't coming from her tree... was it? Something hit the ground close by, bounced and rolled near her feet. An acorn. Huh? Lifting her head and glancing around, hands still on the ground though she saw acorns falling from the trees at a rather alarming rate. Nope, wait... not falling. Thrown. Rylee narrowed her eyes some to see what was the cause of this. Bowtruckles! They were invading the home of Bowtruckles! She knew what could happen if they made them feel threatened and clearly they felt that way. Only... she wasn't doing anything but sitting there with her hands pressed to the ground. Best to remain calm and still, let the Bowtruckles see she meant them no harm. For now she wasn't going to move. She meant no harm to the Bowtruckles or their trees. |
Under normal circumstances, perhaps this family of bowtruckles could have reacted differently. Particularly when it came to the likes of the two Gryffindors [Krel Ansell & Kolyander]. But not today. Not this time. Sitting still only made them easier targets and a few became tangled in the girl's red hair while one made an attempt to shimmy up the boy's shirt to scratch him up there. The No human was left untouched. A boy [2111jen] had one attempting to climb up his trouser leg. One small bowtruckle, no more than a toddler by human standards, struggled with an acorn to pelt at another boy [Felixir]. Another, carefully timing itself, dropped down from the branches of a tree upon another girl [Fireheart]. One particularly perturbed bowtruckle took personal offense to another boy [emjay] pocketing their weapons and began chattering its teeth rabidly while in hot pursuit. This distance between the humans and the trees did not appear to matter to the bowtruckles this day. Not after what they had seen days prior. The boy [emjay] did ask a very interesting and telling question. Why?? |
Austin blinked when he felt one climb up his trouser leg. Austin carefully took tbe creature off of his leg and put him on the tree. "Hey," he said quietly to it. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said only loud enough for the botruckle to hear. |
Thereos had entered his own meditative state in his spot on the ground. Content to continue his lesson when the breeze told him so and the rustling and bustling of all the students around the groove ceased. Though he soon found the environment perplexing, the whispers of the trees becoming hurried and angry while he felt no further breeze on his bare back (by human standards) and along his flank. Curious, Thereos opened his eyes only for these warm brown pools to darken. Leaping up to his feet, powerful hooves pounding at the ground and even reeling back on his hind legs only while his front prayed in the air a moment. Bowtruckles were known to attack when their trees were threatened. Anyone with any sense knew this of the creatures. Someone among his flock of Hogwarts younglings must have approached their tree inappropriately. There was no other explanation to this. However...this area of the forest was more centaur territory and while bowtruckles were known to visit, it had never been a place of residency. In fact, Thereos could recognize a few of the tiny creatures scampering about. Their roost had been much much deeper in the forest. Where the canopy of green let through no rays of the sun at all... So why...were they here? The Milky Way was cracked and Pluto ascending. "TO ME!" he bellowed trotting towards the center of the groove and planting his hooves firmly to the ground. |
Austin turned around when Thereos bellowed. Inside voice, please? We can all hear you ya know. But he didn't say that, instead, he turned, careful not to step on any botruckles that might be on the ground and walked over to him to see what was going to happen next. |
Text Cut: Bowtruckles Well, this was rather unusal behavior for Bowtruckles. Sammy was by no means a expert with the creatures, but he knew enough from listening to his grandfather talk about wand wood trees to know they usually weren’t this aggressive unless they felt threatened. Maybe one of his classmates had done something wrong? ”Ouch,” Sammy exclaimed looking down to see that one had climbed up his arm. He carefully plucked the little creature off his shirt and attempted to place it gently on the ground. He then got to his feet. Looking nearby, he saw that an older Gryffindor girl (Kolyander)with red hair seemed to have some bowtruckles crawling in her hair. ”Need some help?” he asked moving towards her, trying to keep his pace slow and calm so the bowtruckles wouldn’t have any more reason to be upset. He also kept his eyes on the ground around him so he wouldn’t step on the one he had placed back on the ground. Text Cut: Professor Sammy paused in his movement towards the red-headed girl when the professor began yelling. ”Um,” he said looking at the girl and remembering the professor’s orders to remain within a hand’s reach of his flanks or within distance of someone who could reach the professor. ”We should move closer to Professor Thereos.” He reached out a hand to grab the girl. He’d help her with the bowtruckles when they were closer to the professor. |
The braying of the centaur rattled more than a handful of the bowtruckles and their angry, sharp, fingers ceased their attacks briefly enough for a few of the humans to scamper free if they were paying attention. The two boys [2111jen & Krel Ansell] were successful in unlatching their attackers from their clothes and limbs, but not before each bowtruckle managed a searing swipe of their vicious fingers over the backs of their fleshy palms, easily drawing blood. Somehow, and remarkably so, as students moved closer to their centaur mentor the bowtruckles' attacks softened and ceased all together as their green twiggy bodies circumnavigated the group. Encompassing them within a circle of bowtruckles. |
Wow, calm down, Thereos. The entire forest probably heard him, as loud as he was. And although Gunnar was on his way towards the centaur leading their class, he might have stepped a little faster as he caught sight of a particularly angry-looking bowtruckle headed his way. What was their problem? And it concerned him mostly because he wanted to understand these creatures and their motivations. Once he was closer to the centaur, he couldn't help but notice the group of bowtruckles encircling the entire class. But at least they weren't attacking them anymore. "What is happening?" he whispered to the nearest person next to him as his eyes carefully watched the little green creatures. This was weird, right? |
Abnormal did not even begin to describe the behavior Thereos was witnessing among the bowtruckles and made the centaur all too eager to return to his home to consult the sage. "I do not know, Mr. McCarthy," he replied with an airy graveness while looking over both of his broad shoulders to check that his students were all accounted for and to evaluate the positions of the bowtruckles. "It is clear that our presence has brought forth great trepidation and that we shall not be able to perform readings as predicted. We must not fight the forces before us. All is a sign. An acorn at the threshold will keep lightning out." Pausing a moment here, Thereos glanced around the groove just as the cloudless sky was no more and the sun eclipsed. Even if they were to have successfully began their readings, all had turned to bad omens now on the scent of an approaching downpour. A most unsettling of circumstances. The path of Jupiter had assured him there was to be no rain for another two weeks. "Back to the castle, younglings. Stay close to me and do not fear. We will survive this tempest of uncertainty." His eyes then gazed upon the bowtruckles and a particular part of their perimeter in fervent hope that, as a fellow dweller of the Forbidden Forest, they would permit him escort all back to the safety of the castle. |
Rylee very nearly shrieked when something landed on her head. Not something, someone. Several. There was BOWTRUCKLES on her hair! Remaining as calm as she could she lifted her hands from the ground where they had been in order to try to get them off. Whether it was more them or her own efforts in trying to remove them, they were becoming tangled in her hair! This was definitely not the time to have very long hair that wasn't tied up! She could fell them getting more and stuck in her ginger locks. "Yes, please," she whispered softly barely nodding her head when Samuil walked over towards her. "Careful, their getting themselves rather tangled and we don't want to harm them." Even if they were trying to harm her she would do her very best to show them she wasn't going to do them same. As gently as possible she worked to untangle one without coming into contact with his claws. See? She really meant them no harm at all. "Did we get them all?" she asked Sammy unable to see the back of her own head but not feeling anything she she thought they did. "Thanks," she gave Sammy a light smile for his help as she got to her feet making her way very slowly and carefully over to Thereos, not wanting to harm any Bowtruckles that might be close. She was ready to head back now but something about this didn't feel right. There had to be something happening around here that the creatures didn't like. |
Text Cut: Bowtruckles Text Cut: Rylee The little bugger from his shirt has scratched him pretty good. Blood was dribbling down his fingers a little. Sammy had bled more in the past 2 months then he had in his 13 years of life. If this was a preview of how the rest of his years here at Hogwarts were going to go, he was going to have to talk to his parents about transferring him somewhere, anywhere else. Even the threat of more perkiness was better than bleeding to death slowly. He pulled a few of the bowtruckles out of the girl’s hair, hoping he didn’t dribble blood on her, and more importantly that if he did, she wans’t going to pass out. Some girls did that – or so he was told – at the sight of blood. He got about 3 of them untangled and put them back on the ground (keeping an eye out to make sure they didn’t start attacking him again) and then helped the girl to her feet. Text Cut: Thereos Together with the girl, he walked back over to Professor Thereos. It appeared the class was over today. He was fine with that, so long as the next class didn’t include him hugging a tree again. He looked around the grove and then back down at the ring of bowtruckles around them. Should they…ah… just carefully step over them? There really wasn’t a way around them. If the professor wasn't with them, he might have just done that. But he didn't want to offend the centaur. The action might be considered disrespectful. Sammy promised himself that if they made it back to the castle, he was never going into a forest again without a pocket full of wood lice on him. Or fairy eggs. That gave him an idea. Maybe one of his classmates did have some. People carried weirder things around with them all the time. ”Anyone got any wood lice or fairy eggs on them? Anything edible?” Maybe the professor still had that bowl of edible flowers on him too. Bowtruckles were omnivores after all. |
Frankly, Kaiser was glad that the bowtruckles were choosing to pelt him with acorns - or even just have a good go at it - rather than get up close and personal. They were apparently vicious little things when they felt threatened, though exactly why they judged Kaiser and the others to be a threat, he had no idea. At Thereos' holler, Kaiser did indeed return to the centaur with the other students, still prepared to bat away any acorns that came in his direction. He eyed the creatures warily as they circled; while one or two on the attack was mostly just annoying, a whole horde of them could probably do some serious damage. What was that Thereos was saying? An acorn at the threshold...? No thanks; Kaiser had had enough of acorns today. And he didn't need telling twice. Class dismissed it was. He stuck close to Thereos and looked around at the bowtruckles, hoping they'd let them be on their way. |
Dark brown beady eyes fixated on the humans and their centaur guide, the bowtruckles waited. The tension in the air so palatable that one flick of their slender sharp fingers could cut it. And then they took a few steps in, encroaching on the intruders only to then scatter in the front and move around to the back. Now in a semi circle formation behind the class, the bowtruckles began clicking and chattering their teeth almost as though chanting. But the class was free to leave...and they best do so soon before something else set the unsettled creatures off and they changed their minds. |
Austin followed e everyone back to the school. He hadn't gotten much done due to the botruckles but the fact that he didn't have to speak made him happy. He shuffled into the crowd blending in. |
Curious. Very curious. Holding his tongue, the centaur merely bowed his head in appreciation to the bowtruckles as they parted to allow he and his pupils safe passage. "Let us return," he spoke softly before his great hooves tread lightly on the ground and continued to be mindful of the saplings sprouting forth from it. The sage would be consulted this night and, perhaps, on the next cloudless day he would find a place on the Hogwarts grounds to return to the subject of dendromancy to perform a reading himself. The answers to the bowtruckles peculiar behavior was in the trees and the whispers of the leaves, of this he was certain. Slowly, cautiously, Thereos retraced their tracks back out of the forest and back to his stump. "Class dismissed. Partake in more floral offerings if you wish," he spoke distractedly with strong arms crossed over his chest. "While not our intent this day, your homework is to familiarize yourself with Theriomancy or the practice of divining the past, present, and future by the movements of beasts. You may deliver your assignment to this stump and I am available for counsel should it be sought." He glances upwards briefly at the darkening sky. "Beware the perched owl that hoots upon your arrival and turn not your back to it... or risk disastrous circumstances befall you." OOC: Class dismissed! Thank you for coming ❤ This thread will remain open for an additional 8 hours or so from the time of this post to allow for any wrapping up or catching up posts. |
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