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Divination Lesson; dendromancy in the Forbidden Forest
As had been foretold in the corn husks, it was a sunny cloudless day at Hogwarts. Perfect conditions for what was to come and had the usually resigned centaur in an almost playful spirit as he stood beside his stump in anticipation of the two-legged one's (your) arrivals with the Forbidden Forest to his back. Sitting on the stump is a wooden bowl filled with colorful edible flowers carefully selected and plucked from the earth by Thereos and a few select younglings from his colony.
A pleasantly crisp breeze shifts his peppered brown locks, signaling the arrival of Hogwarts students and the rise of his chest. Upon making eye contact, his warm eyes of earthy hues reflective of the forest and the autumnal leaves seemingly bore into your very soul, he instructs you to pick one or two flowers from the bowl to consume. "Take this time to slow down. It is vital to your success here today. Use all your senses to see it, touch it, smell it, and sense it. Once you have become acquainted with your selections, gently slip each into your mouth. One at a time. Allow each petal to melt against your tongue. Sense it. Savor it. Smile between each wave of floral flavor. Let it linger and then swallow it. After you have swallowed it, let your lips turn up slightly and smile."
The flowers are all perfectly safe. No harm will come to you. Trust. Centaurs are not prone to such deceitful methods of instruction.
So come. Take your flowers and mindfully eat them. Instruction will begin shortly.
LESSON PROGRESSION
- Arrive at the stump at the edge of the Forbidden Forest; mindful floral eating (this post)
- Entering the Forbidden Forest; what do the trees tell you of our purpose here today? (link)
- arriving at a sacred crooked grove; what natural order and rituals have brought you here on this path to Hogwarts?(link)
- preparing for a dendromancy reading (link) - BOWTRUCKLES!(link)
- BOWTRUCKLES ATTACK! (link)
- BOWTRUCKLES CONTINUE THE ASSAULT (link)
- BOWTRUCKLES CONTINUE BEING RELENTLESS (link)
- Thereos calls the class to him (link) - BOWTRUCKLES SURROUND THE CLASS (link)
- Thereos addresses concerns & 'speaks' to the bowtruckles (link) - BOWTRUCKLES ALLOW SAFE PASSAGE (link)
- class dismissed; (link)
OOC: Hello and welcome to your first OOC Divination lesson of the term! A reminder that IC this is not the first lesson your character would have/could have participated in this term and would be well acquainted with Thereos by now.
Please be sure you you have acquainted yourself with the rules and guidelines prior to posting.
The next set of instructions will come in approximately 24 hours from the time of this post.
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.
__________________
MARS IS BRIGHT TONIGHT.................................................. ............................ His priority did not seem to be to teach them what he knew... .................................................. ......
but rather to impress upon them that nothing, not even centaurs' knowledge, was foolproof
Otter This World ♡ Catpurrccino ♡ Slotherin ♡ Pandamonium
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.
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Bread!
*randomly tagged* | Norbert(a) | The Wandmaker (tm)
Text Cut: Bowtruckles
Quote:
Originally Posted by BOWTRUCKLES!
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.
Text Cut: Rylee
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kolyander
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.
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
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thereos
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.
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.
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!
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.
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.
.....and maybe your character should avoid the Owlery for a while.
__________________
MARS IS BRIGHT TONIGHT.................................................. ............................ His priority did not seem to be to teach them what he knew... .................................................. ......
but rather to impress upon them that nothing, not even centaurs' knowledge, was foolproof
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Divination Lesson; dendromancy in the Forbidden Forest 
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