ketchup.
 

Aboli was busy chuckling with her pal JOSHIE, even laughing at Abolina, when Professor Wiliamson had to go and...MAKE A BIG DEAL out of their "DATE". It wasn't a romantic date! Her cheeks turned bright red, and she normally would have retorted, but she was a prefect now! She took this as her warning to shut up.

They HAD been chatting a lot...

So she just shot Josh a look of 'let's talk later' and rubbed her burning cheeks. Merlin's pants...would everyone think her and Josh were a THING now? Was Fiona here? She hoped not because she did not want her friend to think she liked Josh like that because she DIDNDDDDNDNDNT.

But soon the mist was enveloping them, and she clutched her wand tightly in her pocket, careful not to pull it out in case any troll strolled along and found her threatening IMMEDIATELY.

Her ears twitched.

There was LOUD thudding...Aboli turned to look in that direction, her adrenaline pumping, but she was...frozen...too frazzled, still, from feeling embarrassed.

Also, she knew this wasn't real, so her heart wasn't ALL the way in it.

@astrocat, quit editing your posts! LOL
 

Unfortunately for this Ravenclaw, the daydream had bounds. It had to; there were too many kids and a finite amount of space for them to run around in.

As the girl sprinted to the side, a large, unseen force pushed her back, picking her up off the ground and literally throwing her back to the centre. It was a bit like running headlong into a forcefield, wasn't it?

Try again.

Casting the spell was a good move for the Prefect, because at least now she could see the reflections of a several shiny eyes, was it, lurking in the water beneath the bridge.

Something was there, waiting for her. Meanwhile, the thuds grew closer, coming in from behind now even as a second set of thuds joined from the copse.

And what could be so large as to shake all the trees across the bridge, enough to set a murder of crows off and flying straight toward her?

Yikes.

Fortunately, as this was Care of Magical Creatures and not Defense Against the Dark Arts, wands were not necessary for most classes, and even defenseless first years would find themselves facing an opponent that was at their just-right level.

There were no bushes around, but there was something long, shiny and reflective on the middle of the bridge, catching the last few rays of light. Perhaps someone should go investigate? From here, it almost looked like... unicorn hair?

The thuds continued, with more coming in from where she was facing now even as a second set of thuds joined from the copse.

And what could be so large as to shake all the trees across the bridge, enough to set a murder of crows off and flying straight toward her back?

Big yikes.

Thank goodness the troll adventure was over and the professor had escaped unscathed. Unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for his loafers. Now as W3 explained their next activity, Naya became a little anxious. Yes it was just a daydream, but having a pretend experience with a troll could still be a little......unpleasant.

No sooner had he explained the situation, then they were in the scene. It was hard to see, but Naya could hear footsteps.......very heavy footsteps. The troll was coming. It had been easy to question the professor’s choices, but being in the same situation made all smart thoughts go out the window. Even though they shouldn’t use magic, Naya had her wand out. She had to be ready for anything, just in case. She began talking softly to herself. ”Don’t panic. Think. Think.”

Well, look at that. The simulation was doing its job.

So far, though, the bridge and the water beneath it remained quiet. All was calm, with not so much as a ripple through the water. There was, however, a creepy giggle echoing from beneath the bridge.

Didn't the first year want to take a look? "Gotchuuuuuuu!" a little voice called out intriguingly, playfully.

Meanwhile, from the copse of trees, a MASSIVE boulder came flying out, landing heavily on the end of the bridge and blocking her path. In fact, it was so massive that the weight of it started to break through the end of the bridge that was connecting it to the ground...

Uh oh.

Did the footsteps belong to a troll? Think again.

Something was making the ground shake with its footsteps. And another something was growing louder... something like the sound of a thousand footsteps, with yells, grunts, and screams accompanying it...

Suddenly, a tribe of what must have been nearly 200 trolls came stampeding out of the forest on the far side of the bridge. Their eyes were white with fear as they jockeyed and shoved each other and all-out ran across the bridge, four abreast, with more falling into the water and even more streaming out of the forest all the time.

What were they running from, and what was Naya going to do about it before they stampeded over her too??!?!

Only use magic as a last resort, huh? She had heard that one before. At least Williamson gave them the opportunity if they needed it, instead of banning it outright like Trent's kelpie lesson last term some professors. Nevertheless, Avalon made sure her wand was gripped tightly in her right hand as the mist enveloped her. She squinted, a bridge coming into view. Was this the same exact bridge from Professor Williamson's memory, or was she just experiencing extreme déjà vu?

Her head whipped around, trying to sense which direction the footsteps were coming from. It seemed like they were getting louder behind her. Great. She needed to make it across. But there could be more trolls underneath the bridge. To confirm her suspicions, she kicked a stray pebble in front of her and watched as it tumbled down to the water. There would surely be some sort of reaction from below if the river was filled with trolls, right?

i read "copse" as "corpse" SO many times it is not even funny
 

When the footsteps got louder and Naya saw the panicked trolls heading toward her, the fight or flight kicked in. There was something coming, something that frightened the trolls. There was no way that could be good. Naya began to run, calling on all of her track and field training to get to the other side of the bridge before being trampled........or worse. At this point, she really didn’t have time to think.

Running as fast as she could, the Gryffindor headed for the trees in the distance. If she could hide, she might buy herself a few seconds to come up with a plan. She absolutely could not get caught. In the back of her mind, she was wondering what was behind the trolls. Realizing that that was a waste of time, she focused on where she should hide once she got to the trees......if she made it to the trees. No she would make it there. She had to.

What Kath said about 'copse' xD
 

Mamie was pretty sure she had looked all around, and while it was hard to be certain due to the mist and the looming darkness, she did not see anywhere good to hide. She would keep looking though! She saw something glimmer out of the corner of her eye and whirled around, wand ready for what? Luckily, it wasn't a giant monster. There was something on the bridge.

Mamie took a few steps closer to the bridge, trying to see what it was. It was long and shiny...maybe a sword? She sure hoped so, this whole being-chased-in-the-dark thing was terrifying and a sword would help her protect herself. She started walking...no, running toward the bridge to go find out what it was.

Uh-oh.

The sounds continued. In fact, they were either getting louder, there were more them, OR both of those things were happening. She still didn't move, though, even as the crows migrated to behind her. The hair on her arms stood up, and her previous non-worries about this since it was a simulation disappeared because IT FELT REAL ALL OF THE SUDDEN.

It's not real..it's not real..

She pulled one hand out of her pocket, her left one, and stayed in place. She didn't know why she didn't want to cross the bridge, but it seemed stupid to start moving quickly and suddenly...maybe if she stayed still, she wouldn't be seen *eyes emoji*

Regardless of how hard they were clinging to each other, the mist ended up separating the girls. For this one, a unique scenario began to take shape.

She was standing on one side of the bridge. On the other, a group of three trolls came ambling out of the forest, and didn't immediately notice her on the other side of the bridge. In fact... they began to sit down, with one fluffing out a piece of cloth, and the other turning over a bag full of ears and legs and other roasted meats. It was hard to tell from which animal these meats came, but it looked a feast nonetheless.

The third troll, the smallest one, appeared to be dragging a stuffed dragon toy by the tail, and plopped down on the picnic cloth to begin tearing into a haunch of meat.

Could she test out her hug theory? Or... should she?

Nothing happened to the marker; a few ripples released from the water, but the voice didn't sound again.

Instead, the bridge began to groan and break away from the rock. It was sinking already! This was the perfect time for the young giggling troll to make its appearance, as it scrambled up the end of the bridge that was still in tact with the land.

"HAHA!" the troll screamed with glee, starting forward for the first year, and showing all of its rotten teeth in joyous anticipation of eating her.

The water remained still, with nothing more unsual than a few ripples coming from the pebble. It didn't make it very far though, so perhaps there were still trolls under the bridge.

The footsteps came closer, and was there something shiny sparkling and bouncing light off it on the middle of the bridge? It couldn't hurt to check, could it?

Trolls could actually run faster than humans, and that was in fact what happened the minute the boy's feet hit the bridge. Four heavy, hairy purple hands came snaking up from either side of the footbridge. Both sets grabbed Cole's ankles as the trolls used them like anchors to swing themselves up from under the bridge.

One hairy horned river trolls let go of his ankle and snarled in his face. The other continued holding onto the ankles and began licking Cole's leg. Had to have a taste of the lad, didn't he?

This time, the trolls waited until their victim had nearly finished his sprint before they made their move. A horde of hairy purple river trolls popped out from the COPSE, some pushing a massive boulder, and some snarling in Josh's face. They were effectively blocking his pathway forward into the freedom of the trees.

Four more appeared on the bridge behind him, swinging themselves up from under the bridge and making a formidable (and stinky) barrier. They crossed their arms and started grunting, as though discussing amongst themselves how many of them the boy could feed.

He was caught between a rock and a hard place, wasn't he?

The girl was a quick sprinter, but one of the trolls was quicker. A young one caught up to her, and without really thinking (as this isn't a strong suit of any trolls ever) elbowed past her. Another one did the same, until three or four trolls were elbowing Naya and pushing her off the bridge and into the water.

She'd be hitting the river in three seconds unless she thought of a good way to cushion her landing...

No trolls were in sight yet, but what was that smell coming from beneath the bridge? It almost smelled like... rotten eggs?

And shh! If Cecelia were listening carefully, she might hear a sound like the crackling and popping of a fire... perhaps she should peek beneath the bridge, to see if someone ELSE had found a hidey hole?

And, indeed, the professor's warnings were correct about tricking kids. As the girl stepped onto the bridge, she set off a booby trap of sorts, for there was a net there just waiting for someone to step on it. The trolls hanging off either side of the bridge pulled the strings on the net tight, cinching Claudine inside as they cackled with glee.

It was almost too easy, sometimes.

The bit of unicorn hair belonged to the magestic creature grazing on the far side of the bridge, near the copse. And now that the girl was halfway across the bridge, surely she could see it too? The glow of the magestic unicorn practically lit up the trees. It did not, however, help with the troll that was lurking on the underside of the bridge.

The minute the girl neared the unicorn hair, the troll (one with long, scraggly hair itself) swung up and grabbed onto her wrist. "HURHRUHRURHUR!!!!!!!!!" the ugly, stinky thing leered in her face.

Something was now making the ground shake with its footsteps. And another something was growing louder... something like the sound of a thousand footsteps, with yells, grunts, and screams accompanying it...

Suddenly, a tribe of what must have been nearly 200 trolls came stampeding out of the forest on the far side of the bridge, the same forest the crows had just flown out of. Their eyes were white with fear as they jockeyed and shoved each other and all-out ran across the bridge, four abreast, with more falling into the water and even more streaming out of the forest all the time.

The stampeded was crossing the bridge now, heading straight for the Slytherin prefect. She was up against a wall (literally, the bounds of the daydream). What could she do to avoid being stampeded?!

This was a wise move by the Ravenclaw, as he was in fact the first student to learn from the professor's mistakes.

A creepy little giggle echoed from beneath the bridge even as the light from the boy's wand hit the face of an infant troll playing with a dollie.

"HERRRRRRRRROW!" the troll's little voice called out intriguingly, playfully, as it crawled out from the bank where it had been hiding. It ran up to Heath and tagged him on the arm, smearing mud all over him and dropping the dollie at his feet. "CURDUR HEDER HEEHEHEHUR?"

The baby troll took off across the bridge, pausing halfway to see if Heath was following.

Not.real.not.real.not.real-----

FLIPPIN' REAL!!!!!!

Aboli SCREAMED bloody murder as the horde of 'em all swarmed from the forest. She had no time to THINK. She just RAN in the opposite direction of them, attempting to get across the bridge before she could do much else. She was NOT a strong runner, but it was funny what fear could make you capable of. The trolls were bigger than she was, though, and could obviously cover more ground than she could. She pointed her wand at the sky and cried, "VERMILLIOUS TRIAAAAAA!" as she ran. Red sparks shot from the end of her wand, and she repeated herself, shooting all the red sparks she could HIGH HIGH into the air.

She was hoping the trolls would be distracted, and she could safely veer out of their way AND attention. She did NOT want to attack them - hadn't Professor W said something about that right before this daydream charm started? What other spells did she know that would cause distractions? Birds? Could she conjure BIRDS?

"AVIS!"

Birds shot upward, one of them lagging behind because it was a NEWT level spell after all, and Aboli had only just started on the NEWT level journey as a sixth year. She was not inept, just inexperienced with the spell. The sound of the spell, too! It was LOUD and had made her heart nearly leap from her chest.

Her legs were on the move still, though. No time to turn around and see if they stopped!

Kinsay GASPED.

It was a troll family! And they were having a PICNIC! Sometimes her family had picnics! Trolls! They're just like us!

Two thoughts had immediately come to mind. Thought a) prove to Mr. Williamson that hugging a troll would create a bond of friendship and help keep you from getting eaten AND thought b) she couldn't interrupt their family picnic! So instead of doing either thing, Kizzy just watched with delight! Actually, no, she wanted to get a closer look. Just a LITTLE closer. She was good at sneaking, so she tried to inch forward as QUIETLY as possible. Tip toes, quiet. Just to see the family. The baby troll had a toy dragon too! It was just like Artemis!

She loved them.

:butshy: