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Divination Lesson; scatomancy in the Room of Requirement
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When Analiese entered the Room of Requirement, she was startled. A meadow. How... interesting. She almost silently greeted the centaur. "Good morning, sir." The mist was certainly affecting her mood. She was very quiet, unlike her normal, out-going self. The young Claw noiselessly walked towards a stump. She took a seat and placed her book bag by her leg. She observed her surroundings, her face expressionless. The 12-year-old slightly raised her eyebrow at the grass swaying harmlessly, despite the lack of a breeze. How much better would get mood be if she went to Beauxbatons, like her mum had suggested? Much better. |
Chloe wasn't sure why they were still having lessons, but the Ravenclaw wasn't going to miss them. She wasn't fully into the lessons though, her heart just couldn't be. It was in a million pieces with everything that was going on and Tad not being there yet. She hadn't gotten to play quidditch for ages either and that was starting to fully stress her out. How would she ever make the U17 team without any practices? Trying to focus she found herself moving through the corridor and stopping in front of the Professor, 'Good day professor, I brought you something." She opened her bag and lifted some flowers. "I like to have a few small pots in my room, but thought you might like some of them." She thought he had to be struggling with all of this knowing he would rather be outside. Moving into the room she looked around and smiled a little. It was nice to see the outdoors even if it was just in a room. |
Missa was actually really worried about Professor Thereos. He looked really weary, did anyone else notice? She couldn't even take her eyes off the centaur as she approached the room of requirement, and further gave him a concerned look, "you okay there, professor?" she found herself asking - as she stepped in the class. And what an idea for a class this was. She was starting to think she would never see the outside again - but here they were. |
It was to no one surprise that the next Divination lesson would be taught somewhere indoors and the room of requirement seemed to be the perfect place. The mist seemed to be affecting everyone including centaurs as he looked different than normal. More ...wild if that was the word. He was not going to lose his composure during the class right? He could see O'Hara lose it but not him. He wanted to greet back but the only thing that came out of him was a sigh so instead he bowed his head politely before he walk inside the room. which had changed itself in to a large meadow and a brilliant blue sky. Dorian looked around for a moment as he walked toward the group of students already present. He looked at Chloe for a second longer with a slight frown on his face. He still remembered how upset she had been in the dueling arena regards to her friend being missing. He admired her for being present in lessons though. Without saying a word to anyone, he waited for class to begin while looking at the tall grass up ahead. |
Of course Archer had arrived with the Ravenclaws. Wasn't hard when you were now sharing a common room with them. Though, she had mostly focused on the Hufflepuffs and making sure they were comfortable and that none of their new housemates were giving them a hard time (not that she was expecting it of all of them, most knew how to act like decent people, some however.....). Anyway, the most noticeable thing about her now was how unlike herself she was acting. Gone was her usual good humor and comments, replaced by a stoney face thanks to her disbelief that there were absolutely, ZERO plans to evacuate and the headmaster had insisted on waiting on the ministry as if they were just going to come riding along on white horses like knights and save them all. "You too," was her returned reply as she made her way over and sat on one of the stumps in the indicated arc. She missed the feel of the real grass. The real outdoors. |
Let it be known that Nina was still rather uncomfortable with having a centaur as a Professor. Thereos was intelligent and his lessons had been insightful (despite the fact that the Slytherin found Divination to be a completely unsound, pseudo-science), but he was still a centaur. A creature with the hooves of an animal, it frightened her though she tried very hard to hide it. Because this was still a lesson after all and despite her constant feigned-disinterest during a class, she still planned on absorbing any useful information. But a few months ago, her outlook had changed. Kind of. Professor Thereos had saved her life. Nina wasn't a Hufflepuff and as such she would never willingly indebt herself to anyone. But after the incident in the boathouse, a part of her did feel indebted to the centaur. And as such, her mind was quite a conflicting place. One where she was appreciative and grateful for his service, while also being simultaneously uneasy and very much scared of him. Which meant that lessons were... interesting. She hesitated briefly before walking past her Professor to enter the Room of Requirement. She gave him a look, which hopefully conveyed that she was grateful (but most probably showcased how uneasy she felt) before quickly making her way into the-- Meadow? The room threw her off for a moment, and she physically twitched as a long blade of grass unexpectedly tickled her ankle. .... She chose a stump at the farthest end of the semicircle. |
Tina had been spending a lot of time in the Room of Requirement since the mist trapped everyone inside the castle, especially after the recent house merging. It was the only place she could get away from a certain unwanted guest in Ravenclaw Tower! She glanced into the room, but the meadow scenery did nothing to lift her spirits. She knew it was only an illusion; she was still just as trapped as ever. Nonetheless. her sour mood hadn't made her forget her manners. "Good day, Thereos," she greeted politely; she even managed a small encouraging smile. If staying cooped up here was hard for her, she knew it must be torture for a centaur. No creature was meant to stay stuck behind walls indefinitely! Tina made her way to the arc, sitting on the stump that gave her the widest berth from the others, but their teacher's ragged appearance stuck in her mind. It was obvious this environment was breaking his spirit, just like… She suddenly remembered where she'd seen that look before; it was a lot like the way her father figure looked after his final term in this place. She was genuinely concerned for Thereos. How much further would he deteriorate before he could leave this place? How many more had to break before Trent would get off his high horse and allow an evacuation? She absentmindedly fiddled with the hair tie on her wrist to calm her thoughts, and her eyes landed on its purple butterfly decoration… the mascot of her father figure's old house at Beauxbatons, the symbol she'd adopted when she came to Hogwarts to honor the sacrifices he made to this school. She hadn't been here to help him when he needed it, but maybe there was something she could do help Thereos (and others). She just didn't know how. |
His tail listless and eyes clouded over as he heard the approaching shoe scuttles on the stone floor, Thereos found himself thinking about the colony. Where had they evacuated to if not to the castle? Were they safe or had the mist caught up to them as well? And then there was that image of the grotesque and shameful two legged creature that had appeared before him in the boathouse. It haunted his dreams, but the centaur had too much pride to rely upon wizarding methods to quell his restlessness and the manner in which his chest knotted and seemingly protruded, like the natural disfigurings found in the great oaks across the grounds. Should he have listened to his kin? Should he have abandoned Hogwarts and joined them? Or would there be different imagery, sounds, that would be haunting his sleep... ...though he would then be able to lean on his centaur methods of coping where that the case. SPOILER!!: students, may Jupiter once again ascend in your favors Unaware of the storm brewing inside this youngling's heart, clouds thicker and more discolored than those outside the castle wall, perhaps, Thereos offered her a polite nod of the head just as the bell tower began to ring strong. It was time. "If you will all please settle in. You will be back on your feet soon enough," he assured them all as he moved away from the door and gave it a nudge with his rump. Still walking with a limp, the centaur slowly made his way over the threshold the faerie circle created and towards the center of grassy semicircle. "I thank you maintaining a desire to delve into the deep pools of divination in these times. Whether of genuine interest or simply the need to distract, I am pleased to provide." His eyes gazed out over the vast grassy meadow before him, taking note of where certain things were currently settled or moving about in the long grass of glimmering through the air. "I beseech each of you now to tell me what it is that you know of this art that is reliant on the participation of those living beings in nature? Those which, under the care and guidance of your Professor Cornish, have been unnaturally brought within these walls for their ...........," He paused, hesitating on his next words. "......well being?" OOC: Class has officially begun! Thank you for joining us. If you are jumping in late please assume that you have been here all along as it will be virtually impossible for your student to summon the door to the Room of Requirement to find class now that it has shut. |
Analiese wrapped her cloak around her tightly. Even though it was the middle of spring, she still felt cold. She looked at Thereos, her eyes lifeless, as they waited for everyone to arrive. Seriously, the young Claw's mood was so bad that as soon as Trent allowed an evacuation, she was almost certainly never coming back. Beauxbatons would have been much better. Now everyone had arrived, her eyes focused on the centaur, she awaited his instructions. She was not in the mood for question answering at the particular moment, but she, for some reason, decided to answer one. She stuttered as she answered the centaur's question. "W-well, sir, th-there's hippomancy, wh-which is d-divination u-using horses." |
The lesson had hardly begun when Nina felt her back stiffen. His question, despite being clouded in his vague tongue and foreign imagery was clear as day. He was asking about the creatures of Hogwarts. And it made Nina VERY, VERY skeptical. No. No, no no no no no no no NO! She REFUSED. She'd walk out of class!! (No, she would not). She would argue with their Professor!! (No, she would not). She would throw a tantrum!! (No, she would not). In all honesty, she would probably sit with her arms crossed wearing a DEEP frown. Just as she was in this exact moment. Only, if creatures DID show up to the lesson, she would probably run and hide behind someone. Calyx. Or Calloway. They'd both protect her, right? |
Defintely distraction on her part. The desperate need to get out of the castle- alive- was about to drive her up a figurative tree. Not to mention a certain Ravenclaw making it passive-aggressively obvious she wasn't happy about having to share a common room. Anyway... "There's plastromancy or divination by the cracks heat causes in a turtle's shell." Hopefully, one that had already passed by natural causes. 'Cause, you know, a turtle's shell was it's home. And also, turtle soup was a thing in some places. Ugh. |
Tina continued staring at the butterfly on her wrist, trying to block out everyone and everything around her. It was the only way she could function at this point. She looked up for the briefest of moments as Thereos spoke, out of courtesy for him more than anything else. She wasn't even sure why she was here anymore. Divination used to be her favorite subject, back when she thought it would eliminate the uncertainties of life, but now, she knew there was no method of divination in existence that would ease her fears about everything going on in the castle. She'd long since lost interest in this and every other class taught at Hogwarts, but distraction seemed equally unlikely. Nothing was going to completely take her mind off recent events; the best she could hope for was that the lesson would occupy her thoughts enough to stop them from spiraling into darker, more vulnerable emotions. Whatever the reason, she owed it to Thereos to at least try to pay attention. She considered his words carefully, trying to decipher the question hidden in there somewhere. Methods of divination that involved creatures… was that what he was asking? Judging by the answers she heard from her classmates, it seemed like a safe bet. She searched her memory for types of divination that she knew and what they used - a task made harder when her mind was elsewhere! Her eyes once again flicked to the butterfly on her wrist. and a lightbulb went on in her brain. Her hand went up. and she said, "Entomomancy- it's a method of divination using insects' appearance and behavior." |
SPOILER!!: students Seeing no further hands raised, Thereos allowed his disappointment to sit on his face. No one had even come close to itching the method they would be focusing on today. A true pity that students were seemingly not more well versed in divination rooted in the natural world then Hogwarts had such lush surroundings. This was the error of humanity, becoming reliant on their own devices and creations. "Your answers," disappointing as they were. "...have only begun to scratch the surface of the deep pool of possibilities found in the connection between the celestial Inner Eye and the natural world. The first half of term we focused on what the flora surrounding Hogwarts could reveal through its divine teachings." And they would have continued along this path had Hogwarts not forced his hooves. He found himself taking another irritable bite of the flowers gifted to him by Miss McCarthy before resuming, taking his time with chewing and grounding himself. Her kindness was unprecedented under these circumstances. "With all taking such close quarters with one another, four houses merging into two and many of the forest's residence too within these stone walls, we will spend what time we have left this term divulging into what lessons we may learn from the fauna of this world. To begin this journey, I ask you this...what connection can you make between creatures and yourselves? What do they do that you too do?" His tail gave a swift flick to scratch an itch on his rump and something small and sparkling fluttered away from his hindquarters as the grass surrounding their semicircle rustled once more. OOC: This is the last question before we begin the activities for the lesson, which will begin in approximately 24 hours from the time of this post. |
The disapproving look did nothing for her. Nina didn't so much as flinch. Professor Noble often gave her the same look, as did Professor Beryl. She knew what kind of reactions her silence would elicit in lessons, but it did very little to change anything at all. This Slytherin was particularly strong-willed. She did, however, return his disapproving look with one of her own when she had to sit there and watch him chomp on a flower. It was absolutely disgusting. Flowers were meant to be received as gifts from nice boys and admired. Not eaten. Ew. The frown on her face only deepened when Thereos addressed the entire class once more. The content of the lesson was unfortunately exactly what she had feared it would be, but it was his second question posed to the class that had caught her attention more than anything. Connection between creatures and themselves? Nina had half the mind to GROAN. There were no connections. Creatures were dirty. They ate their own droppings. They smelled. They made far too much noise. Some were ugly. Others were dangerous and scary. They didn't understand personal space. They followed you when you didn't want them too. They had no respect for her space. They were flighty and attacked. They were gross and slimey and gooey and hairy. They shed everywhere. Her list went on and on. No. There was nothing that she had in common with an animal. Perhaps the only commonality between creatures and humans was that Nina Castillo liked to avoid them at all costs, like she did with the likes of Eloise Fairfield. That was where the similarities ended though. Thanks. |
Gunnar was rather distracted sitting on his stump in the artificial outdoors of the Room of Requirement. Even though he knew it was false, it seemed so real, and he had been longing to be outside, to run alongside the lake instead of up the stairs and through the corridors, to fly on his broom through the air. He was just about to offer an answer to the question when he realized that class had moved on. Oops. Well, he hadn't really been paying attention to the answers anyway so he might have repeated something someone else already said, so maybe that was a good thing. The sixteen year old was suddenly drawn to Thereos as he snacked on some flowers, reminding him of something that merely added to the many distracted thoughts in his mind. Eh, that would have to wait. "We both have similar needs," he suddenly offered without raising his hand. "Food and water for sustenance, fresh air, shelter, care... physical exercise." That sounded really good right now, especially in this meadow. |
The scenery was so exquisite. The scenery was so beautiful. And the lecturing started. And no time to respond. Vivienne thought Gunnar was daydreaming. Similar needs, huh? And then Vivienne close her eyes and took in the aura of the meadow. |
Analiese perceived Thereos's answer as slightly disapproving of her stutter. So she tried her best to not to stutter (as much) as hard as she could, whilst answering the next question. "One of the m-main similarities between us and a-animals is the a-ability to express shared attitudes and practices and p-passing them to the next g-generation. We express our culture through r-religion, arts, and other social a-activities, which are passed from one g-generation to another, and a-animals express their c-culture through activities such as rain-dancing." She gave Thereos a slightly sympathetic smile as she finished her statement. Certainly a centaur wouldn't want to be cooped up inside? |
She was happy that he liked the flowers and grinned as he seemed to perk up a bit. It didn't even phase her when he ate them, because she was happy he was able to have something fresh that he enjoyed. She felt bad that he was stuck in the castle, she knew how much she hated being in there all this time so he had to be having problems. She figured after class she would tell him she had a few more pots if he wanted them. Class was beginning and she sat quietly through the first question. Divination wasn't one of her strong classes and some of the terms they were saying she didn't understand, what she did understand was Theroes would not feel it was okay to have the creatures in this castle and would most likely not think their wellbeing was being cared for here. She had read enough to know that was most likely how he felt. Instead of answering she kept writing the answers her fellow classmates spoke about. One the second question came she did raise her hand though by the time he got to her she felt that everything waws discussed, but she decided to try anyway. 'I think we could have a deeper connection with creatures, some we just bound with. They enjoy our company as much as we enjoy theirs. We share similarities in feelings, creatures get nervous, they sense danger, they can be sad and happy just like we do. Many creatures find a partner just as we do as we get older and get into relationships." That last sentence though did make the fifteen-year-old blush. |
SPOILER!!: students Seeing no more hands raised, Thereos moved on to more vital matters than lecture and innocent chit chat. "There are many connections to be made between yourselves and the fauna of this world. It is a fact that is sorely overlooked by witches and wizards a like who find themselves superior to it as it is easily conquered and captured with a wave of those magical sticks you all are so dependent upon." Was there a bitterness to his tone? Certainly. The captivity he felt in being cooped up inside like this was tearing his centaur's resolve apart and pushing his psyche to somewhat revert back to a more savage state. "Mr. McCarthy put it best, that we all share the same basic needs." And what goes in, must also come out. The timing of this lesson in perfect alignment for this passage that all must do. "Mr. McCarthy. Miss McCarthy. You two provided the best answers of the bunch as as a reward I bestow upon you the task of handing out the contents of that bag to your peers. Be sure to take one for yourselves as well." He then turned his attention towards the others while the pair went ahead with that. "Soon you will have in your possession a small parcel made from burlap and tied with twine containing specialized pellets that are an ancient centaurian remedy quite similar to what you humans would call a fiber supplement. Each has been made to fit the needs of a specific creature as indicated by the drawing on the bag. A possibility of demiguise, fairy, niffler, or unicorn. All of our companions present today have been evacuated from the grounds, as previously mentioned, and have sought unnatural refuge here in Hogwarts castle by the grace of your professor. Your task is to coax the creature on your label with this remedy to help calm and encourage the natural flow of their digestive tracks." He glanced once more over his shoulder and placed his fingers between his lips to whistle, the sound seeming to come out in chorus. The grass began to rustle and the distant twinkles grew closer. This was the usual time for these feedings, a deemed necessity to ensure that the stressed creatures maintained a sense of regularity. "Once you have your parcel you may begin. A reminder of no wands. Allow them to come to you. They are accustomed to this ritual by now and are expecting these natural treats." OOC: We have arrived at the mini activity! To reiterate, your character should receive a small parcel from either Bazinga or emjay's characters. This is just a bit of IC fun and because timezones are what they are you do not have to wait for them to post, but you should assume that one of their characters handed it to you. |
Did Chloe just relate human relationships to the ones of creatures? Because this particular fourth year did NOT like that connection whatsoever. It was entirely off-putting. She did not want that visual thank you very much. Nor did she want to participate in the next task. Not at all. What. So. Ever. It was as if Thereos WANTED her disapproval. Because the more and more he revealed about the lesson, the more Nina wanted to make her prompt exit. Something that, perhaps, would have been much easier had their lesson been held on the actual grounds. The Slytherin waited for one of the McCarthy siblings (she was hoping Gunnar would hand her the pellet), skeptically looking around the """meadow""" all the while. She didn't want to feed creatures. What if they got too close??? WHAT IF THEY HURT HER?????? |
Flittering this way and that in sharp but elegant zig zagging patterns, a few fairies darted closer to the collection of humans who had obviously come to give them offerings. Worship was the only reason to cease their morning hair fussing. Coming closer now, they could not help but lament how much grander it would be to have beings more beautiful here to admire them this morning. Did this one see her nappy dark hair? It was hideous! |
Slinking through the tall grass, the demiguise watched the humans with predictive apprehension. Large round eyes fixated themselves on each of them as his physical appearance faded in and out. His stomach had been particularly unsettled these past few days and had been sleeping in his little hideaway during these morning feedings. Invisible at the moment, his stomach gave a great rumble as he stood before the feet of one of the humans. |
Unaccustomed to so many, she was nestled away behind one of the larger shrubs scattered about the meadow with only her pearly white rump protruding. Though through the gaps in the shrubbery one could make out eight distinct legs rather than four, one set more golden and slender than her own. |
Scurrying and scampering their way through the grass, the small collection of nifflers were perhaps the only creatures present who were the least ruffled up by the class' present. They could smell the shiny buttons on their robes and bracelets and earrings and necklaces that were worn and their little greedy hands wanted to get their greedy little selves on them. Though one niffler seemed to be struggling a bit as it moved about. Hunkering down and scooting a bit before rolling on to its back and sticking it's legs up in the air only to release a small TOOT and puff of warm questionably smelling air at the feet of a student. It felt better a little better now. |
Apparently his wandering mind proved good for thinking up insightful answers, or at least it appeared that Thereos liked his contribution to the discussion. And because of his distraction, he nearly missed the bag the centaur tossed until he saw it flying at his head. Nearly. He did have good reflexes due to Quidditch, thank you very much, and he reached out his hands to catch the burlap bundle. "Yeah, sure. No problem," he told the centaur as he held the bag on his lap, waiting for further instruction. He also caught his sister's blush at the end of her answer, causing him to eye her a moment. Hm. Did everyone hear that? He had the best answer. But his brow furrowed a bit as the centaur continued his explanation, thinking he caught on to the meaning of some of his words. "Uh, Thereos... sir?" he started as he began passing out some of the parcels. "Are we um, helping these creatures to relieve themselves?" Oh man, there was a branch of divination that involved studying animal droppings, wasn't there? "So we can divine using their excrement?" Because no offense, Thereos, but that was pretty gross. Oooh... was that a demiguise? |
ft the tooting niffler Yes, she had heard his words. He had said "encourage the natural flow of their digestive tracks," which could really mean only one thing. There was no way in actual hell that she would be analyzing dung. Not today, not ever. This is not what she had signed up for and if Thereos really thought he'd get away with making them do that then he had another thing coming. Nina waited until Gunnar had given her a parcel, it had a drawing of a niffler on it. Though that didn't really matter as she wouldn't be getting anywhere near ANY of the creatures. No. Instead, when they were told to stand, Nina walked over to an isolated area and crossed her arms. No, no, no. She would NOT be participating. .... And Gunnar's question had confirmed her fear. No. She was NOT going to do it. For that reason in addition to the fact that Niffler's had sticky fingers.... and Nina Castillo was wearing a lot of jewelry. Her usual silver hoops, a few bangles on her wrists, the necklace her father had sent her for christmas... No. She did NOT want to go near any nifflers. Especially if they were going to... relieve themselves near-- "EEEEEEEEEeeeek!" Nina Castillo jumped five feet into the air today. She had been so focused on the pack of nifflers ahead, that she hadn't noticed the one that had made it right by her feet. The HORRIBLE smell almost made her GAG, and her hand instantly flew up to cover her mouth, while the other pinched her nose. And also, she was RUNNING in the other direction now. |
Oh this was hard, she wanted them all! LOL, Fairy it is. Even with everything going on Chloe couldn't help but smile at Thereos, she enjoyed his lessons, even if she didn't understand most, and he was always very nice and interesting. It was Gunnar that might have pushed her to have a disapproving moment, in Thereos words she just nodded, but she wasn't sure why, but when Gunnar said about relieving themselves she started to giggle and a giggling fit is what happened wow she passed out the bags. Trying so hard to calm herself she couldn't help it, with all the stress something funny was so welcoming. Once all the bags were passed out she made her way back to her seat and looked at her bag. She wanted to make sure she knew which creature she was dealing with before she just jumped right in. Knowing what she had read and what her Creatures professor had taught Chloe knew each animal would react differently. Once she saw she was going to be helping the fairies she felt a bit nervous, they were so elegant she couldn't see them wanting to relieve themselves in front of anyone, would this be a problem for the rest of the lesson? There truly was only one way to find out. Getting up and pulling out the contents of the bag she headed towards them carefully. "Good day, you look so lovely." Even if she knew they thought they didn't, she wouldn't agree. Chloe thought they looks amazing all the time. |
unicorn! Honestly, she'd been about to go on a mini oral essay about how in the muggle world, creatures and humans actually fell into the same kingdom in the classification system: Animal and how they were further divided by physical similarities, behaviors, characteristics and so on. But, it probably wasn't the type of thing Thereos had been looking for. So, even though it would be fun to rile up some of her classmates (she wasn't completely acting herself, but the urge was still there at times), she kept the information to herself. Besides they were moving o-wait. They were what now? Yeah, she'd heard that correctly. Ew. Sorry, she wasn't going to stand here and examine-she took a quick look at the package she'd been handed by McCarthy-unicorn poop. Hard pass. And remember how she wasn't quite acting herself? Well, one Nina Castillo's reaction to a niffler dragged it out of her and she busted up laughing. Was she aware the shiny-thing-loving creature had farted on her? No, but that would probably only make the prefect laugh harder. Farts were funny. |
Taking a few uneven strides backwards, his legs still suffering from the slip in his escape up the stairs while fleeing from the mist, Thereos remained silent as the parcels were passed and students began engaging the creatures. Or rather, the creatures began engaging them. "MISS CASTILLO," he barked at the Slytherin as she began running. "You disrespect and inability to follow directions has just earned you a detention. Be grateful we are here and not near the mist or it too may have claimed you as well." He stomped his hooves, trotting in place a moment and wincing at the sharp pain that shot through his leg. Wherever she thought she was fleeing to was futile, the exit to the room would not be summoned until he wished it so. The centaur then bowed his head in apologies to their companions of the day and snorted loudly while his gaze shifted to the others as they respectfully continued to follow his guidance. Making a mental note to show Miss McCarthy and Mr. McCarthy proper appreciation later, it was the latter which drew his attention next. "The word you are searching for is scatomancy," he informed the Slytherin. "The reading of one's fortune by examining bodily excrement." Which answered his question, yes? Dark eyes shifting towards the Hufflepuff prefect, he took a few calculated paces in her direction. "The divine art is a seriously subject, Miss Calrissian. Your hyena laughter will only startle." Particularly considering he could see the unicorn label on her bag. "I suggest you gather yourself." Tail swishing subtly, Thereos would allow their attempts to go on for a few more minutes. OOC: you still have approximately 24 hours for this mini activity! |
Nettie hadn't even considered how the poor centaur had been dealing with the whole mist scenario. The professor looked awful - it wasn't natural for him to be locked up in this castle, she was sure of it. Come to think of it, where did he even reside when he wasn't here? She hadn't even thought of that. He was just as much a prisoner in this castle as they were. The whole feeling of impending doom thing that had accompanied the mist settling in to the castle was really weighing on her, so she'd remained silent until Gunnar handed her a Niffler pellet. She pulled it out of the burlap bag and examined it before sitting cross legged on the floor and just...waiting. Or at least, that had been the plan until Nina started SCREAMING. AGAIN. Nettie's first thought was, of course, that Nina was dying in the mist again. Her heart began to race as she was immediately brought back to that night, and the utter terror she had faced in the boathouse. Creepy crawly bugs, sharks, Eiji drowning...she knew it was stupid, and that didn't make any sense. After a few deep breaths, she felt her senses returning and reminding her that she was not, in fact, in the boathouse. She was in the Divination room. Safe from the mist In the process of jumping nearly out of her boots at the sound of Nina's screech, she'd THROWN the pellet from her hand in surprise. She wasn't quite sure where it went, looking around and not realizing that it had landed near the Hufflepuff prefect (maybe even hit her? Depending on how wild her throw had been. Oops o____O ) The Ravenclaw was none the wiser, however. Good thing there was another pellet in the bag... |
She might have jumped and hoped she didn't startle the fairies, but Thereos was very loud when he wanted to be and she had giggled so she was being part of the problem. She bowed her head not wanting to cause anymore issues even though he hadn't said anything to her. A little quieter than she had done to start with the fairies she pulled out the contents from the bag and put her hand flat showing them to the fairies. "Would you like these?" It was an offering, yes, but did she realy have to be rude and follow them around until they pooped? How embarrassing for them. |
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She did not smell particularly unpleasant and her hands seemed clean enough. Giggling and speaking to each other in their high pitched tones, the flittered around the girl's outstretched hand and took an offering each. And they quickly gobbled them up. Deciding that this human was acceptable enough, they decided to sit upon her head, hand in hand with their shimmering wings, to create a sparkling fairy tiara. Yes, all behold upon them how much more beautiful they made this girl look now. Look at them! |
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When they came closer and took the items from her hand she felt like bouncing from excitement. How cool was it that fairies were actually right here in front of her. This was the best and for at least this lesson the outside horrors slipped from her mind. While she watched them she got a bit nervous when it seemed them were flying over and then sitting on her head. What were they doing? She wished she could see, but FAIRIES were on her head and it was too exciting. "Gunnar... Gunnar.. look" She didn't want to yell, but was he seeing this? |
She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard her name being barked across the room. .... Oops. She hadn't meant to cause a scene, it was just her first reaction. An instinct, if you will. Still from across the room, she looked at the Centaur sheepishly, only for her jaw to drop wide open at what he said next.... DETENTION??? No, no, no, no, no. Nina Castillo did not receive detentions. She was good and stayed out of trouble and always did the right thing even if it pained her to do so. No, no, no. She couldn't get a detention, what would people THINK? No one else saw that happen right???????? She looked around the room nervously, relieved to see that many of the other students were busy working on the assignment. She'd have to beg him to withdraw the sentence after class. What if people talked about this?? What if everyone knew she'd been put in detention? What would Calloway and Calyx think of her? Eloise and Celine would surely make fun of her for the rest of her life. She'd be forced to befriend the rest of the school burnouts. She would tarnish her entire reputation. |
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Rolling swiftly back on to its legs and began gleefully giving chase as the sweet sweet smell of shinnies ran awaaaaaaaaaaaay. As the girl stopped, the smell only became more potent as the niffler pranced onward and LEAPED up towards her chest, little pudgy legs spread wide like the little star stealer that he was, to try and claim one of the many sweet prizes on her. Quote:
More please? |
Catching up + demiguise Normally Tina felt a surge of pride at giving a correct answer, but now she felt nothing except the uncertainty and anger that had become her constant companions since the mist trapped her in the castle. She considered the next question carefully. Was Thereos referring to similarities between themselves and a specific type of creature or creatures in general? If he meant specific creatures, that was easy. She always saw a lot of herself in cats... independent, resourceful, resilient... but judging by her classmates' answers, she supposed it must be the latter. Her first thought was that all living creatures need food and water to survive, but that was along the lines of what that Slytherin kid said. From there her mind went to life cycles. All creatures were born, grew, aged, and eventually died… but she thought that answer might be a little too morbid to voice out loud. She didn't want to have her answer taken the wrong way and be accused of fearmongering! Tina remained silent, listening closely to the directions for the mini activity. She wasn't sure what to make of it. On the one hand, she was generally more comfortable with animals than people, but there was always an element of unpredictability in interacting with any creature. Whatever she thought, she wasn't going to complain about it. It was what it was. She nodded a thank you as one of the McCarthy kids handed her a parcel with a drawing of a demiguise on it. She was okay with that; at least demiguise weren't typically dangerous. Her dark head whipped around just in time to see several creatures approaching, including… For a split second, her eyes met those of a demiguise. "Hello there," she said softly. She knew it wouldn't understand her words, but she hoped it might find the sound of her voice soothing. No, please don't- she thought as she saw its appearance fading in and out, but it was too late. It already turned invisible. Well, this just got a lot harder! Why couldn't she have got a niffler instead? That would be easy! All she'd have to do to entice it to come was offer her butterfly hair tie. Still, she couldn't blame the demiguise for turning invisible. She'd disappear too if she could! Which way did it go? Tina looked in the direction she last saw the little hairy spa-like creature, searching for any signs of movement like a twig snapping or blades of grass swaying. She was still looking when the McCarthy boy asked a question about animal droppings that she hoped to Merlin was wrong. Then there was shrieking… and laughing. She didn't even have to look to know where the unwanted noise was coming from, and she inwardly groaned. Not only was the laughter disrespectful to that Slytherin girl (Nina) who was obviously scared and to Thereos, but it could scare the creatures, thus making everyone's job harder! She had to literally bite her tongue to stop herself from pointing that out, but she was going to let Thereos handle it, rather than make further noise by arguing. All the noise was too much for Tina to process at once, and she knew that if she was overwhelmed, the poor creatures must be too! She slowly got up and moved a few paces away from the group - away from the noise but still close enough to be seen - taking care not to make any sudden movements. "It's okay, you can show yourself. I won't hurt you," she said quietly, turning her gaze to where she last saw the demiguise. "Look! I've got something for you…" She offered the pellet from her parcel, hoping that the demiguise would realize she wasn't a threat. |
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Because it was this fear on top of the fact that she had just received the very first detention of her life that made her feel sick to her stomach. She had been so preoccupied with the latter, that she hadn't even noticed the smelly niffler who had chased her across the room. Well, not until it LEPT onto her chest. EEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!! This time she didn't shriek out loud, aside from making an uneasy noise with her lips sealed. She was frozen. Eyes shut. There was a niffler on her chest. Get off. Get off. Please, please, please get off!!!!!! Her back was completely stiff and she no longer cared whether or not others were watching. No wait, she definitely did care. But her eyes were shut so she couldn't really see it anyway. "Take it, take it, take it," she held out the little parcel full of pellets in hopes that the niffler would happily snatch it and run off. |
Scatomancy. Right. Gunnar figured as much and, while the thought did seem rather unpleasant, he knew he needed to get over it. Especially if he did continue on the career path he had started to set for himself. It might not have anything to do with divination, but he would need to know certain things about keeping creatures healthy. He was startled slightly by Nina's sudden outburst, and he raised an eyebrow as he watched her run off. "What's with her?" he asked no one, but looked back to Thereos when he gave his housemate detention. Oops. He did however notice the centaur wince and he looked on him with concern. "Are you alright, sir?" He couldn't help but to still regard him as partially a magical creature and wondered if he'd need assistance. Chloe's voice made him turn his head and he smiled as he saw the fairies adorning her hair. "Oh, that's really cool," he grinned, watching a moment. "They must really like you." He was pretty sure they didn't do that often. And he should probably get going with this activity now that he had finished passing out all the parcels. What creature did he have the opportunity to.... assist with their digestive issues today? He glanced down at the parcel he saved for himself to see a demiguise on it. Oh cool. Where did that one he saw earlier go? He knew they were elusive little things and could disappear at will, but.... Gunnar looked around another moment before sitting back on his stump with the bundle of fiber supplements in his hands. Perhaps if he waited here quietly, a demiguise would approach him? Or at least he would have an easier time of observing to see where one was if he sat here a moment. |
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Not a threat, no...but cautious, yes. Quote:
Slender limbs slinking forward, the demiguise remained invisible as it circled around the stump and its eyes glowed blue for a moment. The rustle in the grass would perhaps give its location away, or perhaps not. But the touch to the boy's palm as it snatched some of the pellets and devoured them certainly would - and it granted the boy a brief glimpse of its brown eyes before they vanished once again. |
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Soon, however, there were gentle little POP POP TOOT noises coming from the fairies. Though it came in a pleasant rhythm - everything with them was pleasant, of course - the sounds were accompanied by little vibrations against the girl's head as the pellets swiftly made their way through their delicate little systems. |
OOOH one of the nifflers came up to her! Nettie's attention was completely on the little mole creature as he came up, taking the little pellet with interest. She watched with a grin as he nibbled it up, handing out another pellet to him as he looked up at her expectedly. She was too focused on the niffler and its cute little munching to think about anything else right now, to be completely honest. |
Catching up + fairy! Scatomancy. Analiese had come across the term before whilst reading through her divination textbook. Quite gross if you asked her. The young Claw glanced down at the parcel that was handed to her and saw a fairy. Exactly what she wanted. She took out one of the pellets that were apparently filled with some centaurian remedy. She quietly waited for a fairy to come over to her. She twirled a lock of silky black hair in her hand. Would these fairies just hurry up and come to her? Unfortunately not. The 12-year-old tapped her foot in impatience and waited. |
As was expected, the fauna were responding positively to the younglings and their offerings. With most of them on task, Thereos felt his spirits lifted ever so subtly. Though he got a bit too caught up in watching the interactions that the centaur began losing track of the passage of time. He could thank the fairies for their gently toot toots for the reminder that there was still a task to be performed. "The remedy should be taking it's full effect soon enough," he proclaimed while slowly pacing the area. "You'll want to follow your creature at an appropriate distance until they relieve themselves. This will be their first movements of the day and will always provide you with the freshest and purest of readings. Now, before any of your inquiring minds speak it, yes this is something that you can perform on your own each morning and yes the nourishment you intake the previous day can influence your reading. Just like your fate, your fecal prediction can be changed by your life decisions. Nothing is written in stone. Thankfully in the case of our subjects today, some of these variables have been nullified seeing as their diets are being regulated and consistent." He pause a moment to give the students time to digest this information before pressing onward, speaking with a casualness as though he were merely discussing the weather. "One's sense of smell is subjective and typically the aroma is disregarded in scatomancy, but it is true that the stronger the scent the more certain the prediction. You will find guidelines for how to read these on page 202 of your textbook. We will use the remaining time of the lesson focusing on your readings." His tail swished and he felt a bit of an itch, but he could remain poised until dismissal. Text Cut: page 202 OOC: you have arrived at the main activity of the lesson! The special creature accounts will continue to be posted, making it easier or more difficult for your student to gain a reading depending, but will not provide you with too many specifics about the reading itself. |
She couldn't help but smile at Gunnar as he came over to look, "What does it look like? They are so adorable." Her voice was going in a higher pitch with excitement, but really when did you ever have fairies on your head? She just wished there was a mirror around to look at or she actually carried one in her bag. It wasn't until she felt and heard the toots that she raised her eyes but not dare her head. She giggled at the vibration but looked concerned around the room. "Do fairies use miniature toilets and if so do we have any?" There was one thing Chloe wasn't wanting today and that was poop in her hair even if it was most likely filled with glitter and smelled like roses coming from these really cute creatures. |
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One even graced the girl with her presence by twirling and dancing on the now empty palm of her hand. LOOK at how PRETTY she was. LOOK. Soon, however, that same fairy ceased her twirling and giggled with delight as she squat suddenly and GRACED the girl's palm with something solid and shimmery. Something that resembled the rainbow sheen found on blown bubbles. Quote:
Drip drip drip. GIGGLE GIGGLE GIGGLE GIGGLE. |
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Yanking and tugging, it made a real honest attempt to collect its prize. And gave another stinky TOOT TOOT. Quote:
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Once she had seen the fairy, Analiese's face lit up. "H-Hello, little fairy." She smiled as it giggled and sat down on her hand. Expression returned to her eyes. But hold up a sec- DID THE FAIRY JUST RELIEVE ITSELF ON ANALIESE'S PALM?!?!?! "EEEEEEK!" She jumped about ten feet into the air. And then Thereos caught her eye. "S-sorry about that, s-sir." Fortunately yet at the same time very unfortunately, the fairy's excrement remained on her hand. Fortunate because she had scatomancy to do. Unfortunate because of hygiene reasons. Awkwardly one-handed Analiese opened her textbook to page 202. She observed the excrement and came to the conclusion that she needed to take caution, be wise with her money, and needed to 'put away childish indulgences'. |
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RIGHT?? Wrong. Clearly. At this point she could hear Thereos giving more instructions on the other side of the """"classroom""", but Nina couldn't be bothered. She was stuck frozen in utter FEAR!!!!!!!!! UM HELLO????????? Again, she made uneasy noises with her lips sealed and when the Niffler TOOTED again, all color fell from her face. SHE WANTED TO GAG. "Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew," she whimpered, bouncing up and down a little bit. Get it off, get it off, get it off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Tina remained still and silent as her eyes met those of the demiguise, watching intently as it revealed itself to her. She smiled a little at the sight of the demiguise. So far, things were off to a pretty good start, but she had no idea how the demiguise would react to her offering. She half-expected it to ignore the pellet in her hand, so she was a little caught off guard when it snatched it. Her eyes widened, following the demiguise as it jumped back, but she didn't scream or otherwise make a sound so as not to scare it. She was perfectly content to give the creature its personal space, especially when she heard what the lesson subject was. Yeah… no, Tina wasn't going to use this method of divination on her own. She doubted she'd use it at all outside of a classroom setting. It sounded like a disgusting discipline to her , but as long as she didn't have to actually come in contact with the animal droppings, she wouldn't make a fuss. She had absolutely no intention of following the demiguise around until it did its business (because eew!), but she kept a close watch on it until… A sudden noise caused her head to turn. At first, Tina thought it was that Slytherin girl screaming again, but it was one of her younger housemates (Annelise). She immediately saw the reason for the noise, and as her eyes scanned the group, she noticed at least a couple of her classmates had, for lack of a better word, been used as toilets. Now she was getting really nervous! No, please don't go on me! she thought. Not in front of all these people! She didn't want to be laughed at or made fun of, and it was bound to happen if that demiguise went on her. Outwardly, Tina's expression remained as stoic as ever, but inside she was panicking. She took a few automatic steps back, keeping a close eye on the demiguise all the while. It was taking all her restraint not to run, but she willed herself not to move again… at least not unless the creature got too close to her. If that happened, all bets were off! |
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The only problem was that as the demiguise faded away, so too did its feces. |
Tina was glad that the demiguise kept its distance as it relieved itself, but her joy at not becoming a living toilet quickly turned to annoyance and worry as the demiguise turned invisible again… and so did its droppings. Now what was she going to do? She didn't get a good enough look at the specimen to give an accurate reading, and if she couldn't give a reading, she wouldn't get credit for completing the activity. If she didn't get credit, her grade would suffer. If her grade suffered, she would look bad, and… She had to take a deep breath to stop herself from spiraling into a state of panic. Maybe she could make up a reading instead? She consulted the page in her textbook, searching for information to make a convincing reading, when she read something fitting. 0 - your future is clouded in uncertainty… Duh! As if she needed divination to tell her that! Every day in this stupid school consisted of nothing but uncertainty. Still, as useless as that prediction was, it was the one that made the most sense for her reading. She knew there were demiguise droppings, but she couldn't see them, so that was basically 0, right? |
Thereos was, to say the least, disappointed in many of the facial expressions and reactions to the activity. Did students forget that everybody performed this act and that it was not something taboo? Scatomancy was a celebration of the body's natural ways, not something to be scorned nor wrinkle a nose at. Not all, however, were disappointing and the centaur took careful note of just who those select elite few were. Quote:
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"To the task, Miss Castillo. We have all suffered your screeching enough," he scowled at the girl. Her apparent obsession with material possessions, those sparkly hoops danging from her ears specifically, was off putting and a clear distraction to the divine art. Quote:
"The sun does not cease to shine simply because it is masked by clouds," the centaur said sagely to her while resting a firm hand upon her shoulder. "It simply means today is not the day for it to shine upon us." He paused and then nodded a firm chin towards her parchment, his way of encouraging her to write what she had witnessed. "Do not fight the wheel of destiny, but learn to rotate with it." And then he was off, slowly walking back towards the collection of stumps. "I fear that our time has come to a close," he announced boldly with his hands cupped around his mouth. "Place your scatomancy readings upon this stool and, with the exception of Miss Castillo and Miss Allanach-Senchuri, you may be dismissed." OOC: that's all he wrote! This lesson has officially come to a close but will remain open for approximately another 12 hours for anyone wishing to play a bit of catch up or wrap up their RPing. The creature accounts will continue to interact with you as best they can, but you are free to take some creative liberties at this time. |
It would seem to Gunnar that Thereos was probably fine, or maybe he just didn't want to let on too much to the boy, as he didn't address his question. But he didn't seem too bad off other than the obvious distress that a centaur probably would have being trapped inside. He watched the centaur another moment as he sat on his stump, unaware of the invisible demiguise watching from behind him. He turned his eyes back to Chloe, smiling at her excitement over the fairies alight in her hair. "Sort of like a woodland tiara," he said, almost wishing that he had brought a camera. It wasn't everyday that someone wore a fairy crown. But his smile soon faded as she asked about miniature toilets, knowing that those sorts of creatures, no matter how delicate they seemed, certainly did not use anything like that. And then... "Uh, Chloe...? There's something on your forehead..." He didn't care how pearlescent it was; it was still kind of gross. But his attention was soon diverted when he felt something brush against the open palm of his hand and saw several of the pellets were gone. A quick glance up gifted him with the sight of a pair of demiguise eyes, causing his lips to curl up at the corners. "Hey, little guy," he greeted him even as he disappeared from view. He tried to stay calm and still while being alert to where it might have gone, so hopefully it would reappear to him. Or, he had to wait for it to defecate also. But.... oh great, was class being dismissed? He looked up at the centaur, then quickly flipped his book to the page for the meanings. Gunnar didn't notice any demiguise droppings, but did they disappear too? He wasn't completely sure, though maybe he could wait another minute. There was a reading for zero as well, he noticed. |
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