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CoMC Lesson 1 - Murtlaps As you arrive to the regular paddock where Care of Magical Creatures is frequently held, you'll find the area holds several large, individual aquariums arranged in a horseshoe, each filled with water and marine plants and animals (both magical and mundane) such as hermit crabs, clown fish, sea anemones, and more. It would be wise to keep your hands out of these aquariums until instructed otherwise--you might get bitten or stung. |
Her absolute favourite class. It was one of the reasons Claudine was usually early to them. And though she missed Williamson a lot, she was grateful that Paszek had agreed to let her continue tending to the Hogwarts creatures. Even if Paszek overseeing her at first had been irritating. "Hi, Professor,'' the girl greeted brightly. Immediately her gaze roved around, checking out the aquariums. Wow. So much life in said aquariums! Claudine was delighted to see it all. More than ever, she was eager for the lesson to get started. But for now? She'd just ignore the rest of the world and admire those clown fishes. |
Cece was a big fan of creatures, mostly because she knew whatever they’d be doing in class would be interesting and, more often than not, hands-on. Plus magical creatures were kind of epic. She liked knowing how to interact with them. ”Hello Professor,” The seventh year greeted cheerfully. The aquariums were cool. She’d been to a huge aquarium once that housed all sorts of interesting creatures that she’d wanted so bad to get a better look at, so seeing the smaller tanks was exciting. ”Hey Claudine.” Cece stood by her fellow seventh year, waiting for things to get going. |
Aquariums were soooo pretty, and V was delighted to see a bunch of 'em when she skipped over to Creatures class for today. She still managed to stumble over Professor Paszek's name, and so it was totally just PROFESSOR P to her. "Good day, Professor!" she said in a content enough tone, eyeing Claudine and the other older girl she saw always talking to EVERYONE. Cecelia Summers, right? V eyed HER, too, but only because she had told Claudine hi. It was unfortunate none of her friends were here yet -__- |
Care of Magical Creatures usually put a little pep to Evan's step, as he made his way down towards the paddocks. He spotted all the aquariums and was instantly intrigued at what they would be studying today. There was a lot of different creatures of note to be studying just one. Maybe they were studying creature ecosystems as a whole? That could certainly be interesting. Evan reached the small gathering of his peers, adjusting his bag over his shoulder as he continued to look at each aquarium with curiosity. He even forgot to actually give greetings to those around whom he would have recognized and wanted to be polite to. Though on instinct, he did call a soft, "Hello, Professor." |
Kinsay was way curious, so she stuck her whole face up to one of the aquarium tanks and tap, tap, tapped against it, trying to get the attention of all the critters inside. Especially the clown fish. She liked those best upon first judgement. She would've stuck a finger or two inside as well, but then Professor P walked by and Kins didn't like trouble. So. She'd have to try again later maybe. "Hi, Professor," she offered a polite sort of smile in greeting. It was nice not to have Professor Williamson anymore. It meant Kins could come to class and not hate her professor on behalf of her best friend. "I used to have a pet fish once, but she's dead now." ... Did fish go to heaven? Or did fish bodies just decompose in the ground? These were the important questions Kiz hoped they'd be learning how to answer today. |
"We'll just get you a new fish, if you want one. But then Dad will have to take care of that pet too," Phoebe gave Kizzy a side-squeeze as she popped up next to her younger sister in the horseshoe. This was cool... all sorts of sea creatures, and MAYBE they'd get to pet a fish?!? "Hello, Professor Paszek," Phoebe waved at the professor, but her attention was most definitely on the aquariums. One way or another, she was definitely getting her hands on a fish. |
The first thing Serena noticed when she arrived for her next lesson was the aquariums. And then V. And Claudine. She waved at the latter and went to stand next to V. "'Sup, V Gellar." That's when she heard Kinsay say she had a fish once. "I flushed a fish down the toilet once," Serena shared to the group. Hi. Oh. "Hello, professor." |
Magical creatures!! Valentina was excited as she made her way down for the lesson. It was her faaavourite - mostly because it was one of the few subjects she was rather good at. "Hello, professor." The blonde greeted with a bright smile, immediately noticing the aquariums. Woow. She moved a little closer to them, walking slowly, curiously looking at the creatures and plants inside. Her eyes widened when she saw the clown fish. They were so cute!! |
He knew it was unfair to still be scrutinizing the professor's every move, but change was hard and Professor Williamson had been one of the handful of adults here at Hogwarts Atlas had felt comfortable with and like he could maybe kind of sort of talk to openly about things. So, you know, this was a big change and having to started from ground zero with a person was rough. Especially when you were a teenager. That being said...the usual serene to indifferent expression typically worn by the Gryffindor whenever he arrived to a Care of Magical Creatures lesson faltered and faded into the giddiest sorts of grins when he saw what was on display. THIS WAS IN HIS WHEELEHOUSE! Second only to insects, aquatic friends were something he knew a fair bit about - even if he still struggled with the tongue twister of a name that was anemone. ...anemone-ne-anem-menemone-anemone...anemone-ne-anem-menemone-anemone...anemone-ne-anem-menemone-anemone... "Hiya, professor," he greeted with a slightly uncharacteristic cheer as of late, and not because of his reservations about warming up to Professor Paszek, while coming to a stop beside Valentina. "Did you know that corals are actually animals and not plants?" It was a question for Valentina and not the professor, of course. |
Dahlia reached the paddocks with a bounce in her step and her usual bright smile. There was no reason for her to be anything but happy. This was her top class along with Herbology. Her favorite. She was never not ready for being around creatures and learning everything and anything she possibly could about them. "Good afternoon, professor. It looks like we have a whole lot of new visitors for today's lesson," Lia commented the moment she laid eyes upon all of the different aquariums. "Will they all be remaining here for a bit after the lesson or returning to wherever they came from?" Yup, she already had questions. Depending on the answers to these would depend on if she had followup questions or not. For now she was just going to checkout each aquarium for a minute. Don't mind her while she unlike most everyone else, watched the hermit crabs. They needed some attention too. |
Adam liked creatures. He liked Professor Paszek. He wasn't picky, really, but so far he was liking the new professor and her classes. He'd liked Williamson of course, but he'd also always intimidated him. And now she was putting aquariums of WATER in front of them? With all sorts of fun thingamamobs in there?! Adam was physically having to open and close his fists to stop himself from plunging his hand straight into the water. Good luck getting Adam to focus on ANYTHING else at the moment. Whoops. |
Heath couldn’t help but note the gloomy weather as he made his way to the Creatures paddock. He hoped it wouldn’t turn rainy during the lesson! As that thought occurred to him, he recalled that jarvey lesson from his third year… the horrible weather, the lack of magic, and… his heart skipped a beat as his thoughts turned to meeting Claudine in the kitchen later that day. He shook his head, willing himself not to focus too much on that memory, not now anyway. There was a lesson that needed his attention! As he approached, his eyes were immediately drawn to the aquariums. Probably safe to assume that they were covering aquatic creatures today. He watched, smiling slightly, as a clownfish swam by. He became so absorbed in that little fish that he nearly forgot to greet the professor! “Good afternoon, Professor Paszek,” he said, acknowledging the woman with a polite nod. Finally tearing his eyes away from the little fish, he found a spot to stand with Claudine and Cece. “Hi,” he greeted the two fellow seventh years. |
AQUARIUMS?!? Ooooh! Lisa’s eyes were wide in awe as she glanced around the room. She liked sea creatures. She had always thought sea creatures and the ocean was so cool. The perfect place for a pirate other than space because space pirate would have been a dope profession!! “Hi Professaur!” she greeted, feeling normally like her bouncy self. She’d gone through the weird motions enough and was determined to just ignore said feelings (cause that was healthy) so happy Lisa had re-emerged. Plus Serena and her were good and things weren’t weird so goooood. She made her way over to V and Serena with a smile on her lips. “Sup chicas.” |
SPOILER!!: replies! Alright, that seemed to be...everyone, or most of them, at least. Having tested the temperature of all the aquariums, Mia returned to her stool at the front and smiled, waiting a moment to see if the students would settle on their own. Just a moment, though. "Okee-dokee, everyone, welcome to class, I hope you've remembered your protective gloves, dragonhide or otherwise,” she said. “As you can see, we’ve got several aquariums set up. I’d like you all to gather around, but please, please, please keep your hands to yourself, and that means out of the aquariums.” She paused for any of them not already within view of an aquarium to move to where they could see. “So...Tell me, what’s in the aquariums? What do you see, or, what do you not see that you might expect?” She paused, then added. ”Why do you think these plants and creatures are grouped together?” ooc: Okay everybody! Class has started now, so if you post your character arriving after this, they'll be late and Professor Paszek will be annoyed! First question is up. Feel free to answer any or all of the questions, and be creative! There was a blurb in the first post about what’s in the aquariums. You’ll have about 22-24 hours until we move on. |
One could actually see Claudine’s eyes follow the clownfish around, she was staring at it that intensely. “Hi, Cece,’’ she remarked brightly, finally tearing her gaze away from the fish. “How’s it going?” The seventh year completely zoned over Victoria. Honestly, she hadn’t forgotten the younger Snakette’s reaction that one time Claudine had called her by the wrong name. She wasn’t looking to have such childish friends. Oh hi, Serena! The wave was returned. “Hi, Heath.” Could he tell how enthusiastic she was for this lesson? Protective materials? Yes, Claudine had brought hers along as always. She moved closer to the aquariums, and though the seventh year badly wanted to reach out to the creatures within, she kept her hands to herself. Presently it would make no sense to stick her hands in there without knowing as many facts as possible. “They’re grouped together because the creatures need the plants in order to survive. The plants are helpful since they provide oxygen.” |
Quiet was not something he minded being associated with, and he did especially strive to do so around the creatures so that they would allow him to observe them and not be threatened by his presence. One of the few qualities about himself he liked. He eyed all the aquariums, spotting the clownfish and anemones and various other plants and wildlife. He assumed the groupings were by ecosystems, because just as Claudine had mentioned the creatures would need the plants in order to survive, but each specific aquarium would also need to house the things that could thrive in those particular conditions. Some plants and creatures needed warm water, some needed cold. Some needed salt water, some needed fresh. It was important to get those conditions right. He raised his hand, "They appear to be grouped by preferred conditions. There are some plants and creatures who both prefer salt water and some who prefer the fresh. It's important to note because that gives understanding on A) how to properly care for those in care, and B) give insight on where they could be found in their natural habitats. Consider where both plant and creature life can thrive and help each other." As with the oxygen. |
"Dad's good at taking care of stuff," Kins replied, turning to beam at Pheebs. Hi, sister. As for the very unfortunate death of her former fish, Kiz gave Professor P a solemn sort of look. "Oh, no. It was really quick, I think she even smiled before she ... You know." But her fish, Sweetpea, got a proper burial and not a flush down the toilet like Serena's fish. They practiced respect in the James home. But as class began, Kiz tried her best to settle down, only turning to whisper to her sister before she moved to join the group. "Do you think she'll let us keep one?" That would be nice. Kins would be sure not to ask because in some cases, it was better to ask for forgiveness after the fact. This was a lesson she had to learn the hard way. And when the question was posed, Kins took a moment to think it over. Why did she think the plants and creatures are grouped together? Easy. "Because they all need water." Yes, excellent. She would be waiting to receive her O now! But also... Come to think of it, Evan made a really good point. It made Kinsay THINK. Big, huge, gigantic thoughts that were so EARTH SHATTERING that everything she knew was very much flipped over on its head now. G A S P. "Professor P?" She raised her hand again, but this time with the most urgency EVER. "If giant squids can only be found in saltwater..." Which is something she KNEW because she read BOOKS OHMYGOD. What if Sir Bartholomew Henry, Giant Squid of Hogwarts, who allegedly lived in the FRESHWATER lake, was DEAD this WHOLE TIME?????????? And no one thought to tell her????? Wait a minute!!!!!! Is this why he never came up to play when she went to find him??? Is this why she could never find Mr. Bartholomew Henry???? ... If that was even his real name!!! ..... What else was LIE?!?! Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. She was starting to feel woozy. |
"It's going good, thanks." Cece offered Claudine a smile and then moved closer to the tanks as class got started. To be completely honest, this seventh year almost had forgotten her gloves, but at the VERY last moment her brain did the thing where it questioned her actions and BOOM, she remembered to grab them. Brains really were wonderful things. Hers worked better when there wasn't a Kale Trent around distracting her with his wonderful-ness, too. Facts. Speaking of facts, the blonde was inclined to agree with Evan. "I agree. I think that you'd want certain creatures and plants in the tank that has the best environment for them to thrive. That could have to do with type of water or temperature or lots of other things, too." Wait, what? Cecelia looked over at Kiz and then blinked because...she'd never really considered this and just ?????? UM?????? |
SPOILER!!: responses Mia waited a moment, to see if anyone else had something to contribute, then clapped her hands together once. “So, as a few people have pointed out, the plants and creatures in these aquariums share habitat preferences, like all wanting salt water, and water temperature and depth. And as Miss Blaze mentioned, the creatures need the plants for oxygen,” she said. “And as Miss James...suggested, putting a creature in a habitat it’s not suited to, like putting a saltwater creature in freshwater, can be traumatic.” There. She’d managed to turn Kinsay’s bizarre question into a talking point. “Now, aside from the type of water, and oxygen, and temperature, if you look closely, you can see that some of the plants, or even the sea anemone, provide shelter for the creatures. And, sometimes creatures form symbiotic relationships with other creatures. For example, the clownfish and the sea anemone pairing are common, because the sea anemone provides a home for the clownfish, and the clownfish...dung...provides nutrients to the anemone.” There were plenty of other symbiotic pairings she could give as examples, but the sea anemone was notable today as it was closely related to their focal creature. And if anyone had seen the No-Maj cartoon about the little clownfish, she suspected it would be a good reference point for them. “You may not have noticed, as they can be shy and tend to look a lot like sea anemones themselves, but there’s some murtlaps in these aquariums,” Mia continued. Sea anemones with legs and teeth, she liked to think of them. “What else do you know about the murtlap? Has anyone ever had any experiences with one?” ooc: Question 2 time!! Go ahead and answer either questions, either with murtlap facts or murtlap anecdotes (either about a living murtlap or one of its byproducts). You'll have 22-24 hours again. |
Oh? When Professor Paszek mentioned there was murtlap in the aquariums as well, he squinted a little bit harder to see if he could spot them among the sea anemones. He wasn't 100% sure, but there was certainly a few that looked like maybe they were moving. Which... he wasn't sure if there would be any current in these aquariums, so perhaps that was the murtlaps? At the question of what they already knew about this particular creature... Evan honestly didn't have much to say. The most he remembered about them was that they kind of sounded like a Pokemon name. But there was one fact that came to mind, though. So he raised his hand, waiting for his turn before offering anything. "I heard a bite from a murtlap can cause unfortunate reactions. Sweating, twitching." And farting fire, but honestly he didn't think that needed to be said out loud. He would not put experimentation on that past Gryffindors. |
Murtlaps?? Aren't they - like - sea rats?? Wait, how did she not notice any? She tried to look inside the aquariums but couldn't spot one. Maybe they were hiding or sleeping - wait, did they even sleep?? Did marine animals sleep? Not that it had anything to do what the professor asked. "I've heard of Murtlap essence, professor. it is used to treat bruises, right??" |
Lia kept her warm smile and didn't at all hesitate to ask her next question once she had heard the creatures would all be around for until the end of the week. "I would be more than happy to with them should you need any assistance." With all of the time she already spent in the barns, pastures and in the bird garden helping out, of course she was going to offer up her time for these visitors too. Helping others was something she enjoyed anyhow but when it came to helping with creatures she loved that even more. As the first question rolled around, Dahlia quietly took a mental note of what she seen in the aquariums once again. Certain creatures and aquatic plants grouped together by what they needed to survive. Grouped together like how they would be found out in the wild. Still watching the hermit crabs, she noted how those were really mentioned but before she could really question it the lesson was already moving on. Murtlap. Basically naked water rats with floppy tentacle like things growing on its back. Which she knew to be some form of sea anemone. They were kinda cute actually. Finally turning away from the hermit crab tank for now, her attention moved towards the aquarium in mention to see if she could happen to spot a Murtlap. "If you pickle the growth on their back it can then be eaten but eating too much of it can cause you to grow purple ear hair. However it's supposed to improve one's resistance to jinxes," she answered with her hand raised in the air. If it worked, she truly did not know. |
A murtlap is probably one of the weirdest things Serena has ever held. One time when she was still in the single digits, the entire Baltazar clan went on this adventure and along it, they encountered alllll kinds of creatures. Serena remembers her godfather placing a bet Serena would freak out at the touch of a murtlap. Her grandfather bet she'd hold it like a champ. This is, Serena doesn't find many things gross. Not even mooncalf dung. You know what was gross? Weakness and feelings. Anyway, she raised her hand. Her fingers still remembered the feeling of the murtlap tentacles. "Murtlap are carnivorous and sometimes like to eat human toes." |
They were very important, those plants were. Claudine peered at them; indeed they were providing shelter for the fishes. Over all, aquatic life seemed to mostly hinge on the plants much like human life hinged on trees. Wait. What? Murtlaps? Claudine was disappointed in herself for not having noticed them, even if they were hiding away. Surely she should have seen something? A movement from their many tentacles perhaps? Anyway. “They’re classified triple X by the Ministry,” Claudine volunteered when called upon. “That means a competent witch or wizard should have no trouble with handling them.’’ |
SPOILER!!: responses! Answers in, Mia paused for any last minute thoughts. She was surprised, no one said they’d had to use the murtlap essence themselves. Maybe these students were much less accident-prone than some people she knew, including herself. Still, they had good answers. “Alright, so as we’ve heard, murtlaps aren’t particularly dangerous in handled properly, but they will bite, and bites can have some uncomfortable side effects which we want to avoid,” she said, with nods to Evan, Serena, and Claudine. “They are carnivorous, and they obviously live in the sea. And, murtlap tentacles can be very useful! They are used for healing, in murtlap essence, or pickled and eaten.” Though not eaten too much, else one would encounter the purple ear hair that Dahlia had mentioned. Now, it was time for them to get started on the actual caring for murtlaps. This was the fun part, she hoped. “Now, we’re going to be feeding the murtlaps today,” she announced. “There are several murtlaps in each aquarium. I’d like you to pair or group up, or not, and catch yourselves a murtlap. They can breathe outside the water, so that’s how we’ll be feeding them today.” It was just easier if they didn’t have to hold the murtlaps in the aquariums to feed. It would be much easier to see them, too. “I recommend wearing your gloves, so you don’t get bitten by the murtlaps or stung by the anemones or pinched by the hermit crabs, but…” she shrugged. The gloves could be bulky underwater. She’d leave it up to them if they’d rather be protected or be more agile. Those murtlaps were fast and slippery, once they even found them. “If there’s no questions, let’s go ahead and get started! Let’s catch some murtlaps.” Ooc: Okay! Mini activity time!! You’ll have about 48 hours to do this before we move on, and your characters can work alone or in groups of 2-3. Dragonhide gloves are optional but recommended, for the reasons Professor Paszek mentioned. Feel free to ask any questions or have trouble, and you don’t have to do this all in one post. Here’s the task…
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How Claudine saw it, since practically all of the answers regarding the use of Murtlap had already been volunteered, she opted to go another route rather than stay silent. Though she was still focusing on Paszek, the Slytherin’s gaze was still on the aquariums. Yes, she was hopeful of spotting a murtlap. Oohh! Feeding them? How exciting! Claudine was thrilled and couldn’t wait to get started. “Anyone’s welcome to work with me,’’ Claudine said to anyone close to her. Or not? She was perfectly happy going solo as always. The dragonhide gloves were already being pulled on. There was no way she was looking to get an injury today, thank you very much. Once done, she stepped up to one of the aquariums and peered into it. A look this close should help. Hopefully. |
Feeding the murtlaps today, then? Evan definitely did not want to experience any of the side effects previously mentioned, so he reached into his bag for his gloves as well, pulling them over his hand before making his way over towards Claudine at the open invitation. Naturally, he should take advantage of the time he could still partner with his favorite Seventh year. Plus, he knew Care of Magical Creatures was as equally important to her as it was to him. "Can I take you up on that offer?" The fourth year offered a small smile, before also moving closer to the aquarium and peering inside of it. All the sea anemones definitely made it difficult, though he was still looking for any movement in the tentacles - as he wasn't sure a tank would have the same type of undercurrent to keep the anemones moving. Spotting one little cluster that looked suspicious, he pointed it out. "Maybe in that group?" |
SPOILER!!: Evan bby <3 Claudine was thankful that Evan was one who took her up on her offer. She happened to like him. “You sure can,” replied the Snakette, sparing him a pleased look and a smile. Like the Ravenclaw, Claudine was also looking for tentacle movements. Merlin knew if murtlap usually stayed still for extended periods of time. Her gaze went to Evan’s group. “Worth a try.” Already she was squinting looking for signs of the little creature. “Question for you, Evan Nam. Are you afraid of getting up close and personal with murtlap? If not, we can try to flush one out together.” Claudine dunked her right, gloved hand into the watery depths. She aimed it for the area Evan suggested. Oh? What was that? Was that some movement? “I think at least one’s hiding there.” The movement had been subtle but it looked like tentacles, yes? Tentacles that had moved when she had disturbed the water. |
Lisa liked Care of Magical Creatures so she was happy to listen along and was just chilling until she heard something about MURTLAPS BEING …. CARNIVOROUS? :whaa: Okay so she was lowkey freaking out in her mind at the prospect of meeting one but the Professor’s words calmed her down. She never used to be that flighty but Lisa didn’t want to part with her toes… Their task became clear. They’d be feeding murtlaps today. Their toes would be safe. She glanced around, looking to see if anyone wanted to partner up. She did notice her brother making a beeline for Claudine which was smart. Claudine was brilliant and so was he. “Anyone want a partner?” |
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It wasn't until he heard Maya's sister asking for a partner that he perked up. Uh... what were they doing again? Murtlaps? Making essence of murtlap? Wasn't that potion brewing? Maybe the youngest Nam knew and could help correct his course. "Please, yes, partner." Okay, can you be any less coherent, Adara-Stark, honestly. It didn't take him long before he was by her side. "So uh... murtlaps." Duh. |
Okay, but first of all, her question wasn't slightly off topic! It was the topic Kins wanted to know about and class is all about learning stuff - how was that off topic? Professors are always so quick to call things 'off topic', but there were so many good topics they never talked about. So actually. Kinsay was really only helping. But Professor P's answer really fell short of anything convincing. Magic is what adults said when they couldn't think of a better answer. Professor P was defending the murderers at this school. It was truly terrible. Kins scowled to show her disbelief. She was even upset enough not to answer the question about murtlaps (even though they were really cute and she wanted to take one back to the dorm with her). She did, however, get moving as they were told to get started on this murtlap catching business. Because. Because even though she was sad about Sir Henry, she still wanted a pet murtlap for the dorm. Emm would like it, she was sure. Artemis could use a friend. Kins knew how lonely he got sometimes. So. So she slipped on her gloves and stuck her hands straight into one of the aquariums without much of a plan. "Hi, little murtlaps. Swim to me, I'm nice!" Actually. This was her plan. |
SPOILER!!: Claudine! Evan was quite pleased with the fact Claudine didn't seem to hate his company, it was nice. He offered her a small smile back, finishing a last tug of his dragonhide gloves before letting his hands drop to his sides. He kept thinking he was seeing some movement, but then he wondered if it was a trick of the light and he was wrong. Was he wanting to find one so badly he was imagining it? That was a common thing people could end up doing. The correct answer to that question probably should have been yes, he was afraid given the listed reasons from before... BUT he loved creatures. And he had his protective wear on. So no, he wasn't afraid in the slightest. His smile grew, turning a little impish in the process as well. "Not in the slightest. What do you have in mind for the best way to snag him?" He had no issue just diving his hands in there as an effort. But they might also be able to try levicorpus or something to lift it out of the water to grab. He watched the cluster as Claudine disturbed it, nodding when she said she thought there was one in there. "I think I saw it too!" |
Sooo, they had to catch murtlaps and feed them. That sounded like fun!! She considered noting down what the professor was saying - that was a lot of information but she was too distracted by the aquariums. She quickly slipped on her gloves and started to search for the sea creature - it really wasn't easy to spot one - they seemed to be extremely good at hiding. Oooh wait. Val thought she saw some tentacles so she quickly stuck her hand into the water. It would be a lot easier to catch it without a glove because it felt gross and super heavy but - uhhh. Nothing. No murtlap. "Come on, come on." She muttered under her breath. |
Mia watched closely as the students grouped up and attempted to gather up murtlaps for feeding. She wasn’t sure how long they would need to find and corral the murtlaps. But, they did need to feed them, before the creatures got any ideas about their aquarium-mates. Or student fingers. But it seemed like some students were close to having their murtlap buddies ready to feed, so Mia strode off to the corner, returning with three small buckets. She didn’t want to rush any that were still trying to coerce the creatures out of their hiding places, but maybe getting out the food would help them along as well. “All right, I know some of you are still tracking down your murtlaps, but when you’ve gotten them, it’ll be feeding time,” she announced, glancing around to make sure everyone heard. “I’ve got here some small fish,” like anchovies and sardines, “as well as some seaweeds and prawns.” She set the buckets down in a row. “I’d like for you to offer a sampling of foods to your murtlap, and observe how they react to each one.” Ooc: Ok, the main activity is up! You’ll have until at least 8 PM Central (GMT-5) on September 30th to complete this activity. If you haven’t completed the mini activity already, that’s OK, you can wrap that up and go straight to the main activity. If you haven’t gotten the chance to post at all in class, this is a great place to jump in! |
SPOILER!!: Dear Evan Nam <3 “Oh, a simple grab and lift,” Claine replied cheerfully. CoMC always put her in a good mood. “Using magic is my backup idea. In my opinion, a hands - on experience is best when it comes to creatures. A hands - on experience wherever we can manage it, that is.” Just a little tip there for you, possible future magizoologist. Right now, she was focusing her energies and concentration on gently easing the murtlap up because yes, it was indeed one. It escape from her gloved hand repeatedly. “Look, it’s coming closer to you,” the Snakette remarked, quite calm despite having just dealt with a particularly frustrating murtlap. Her general love for creatures never made her lose patience. “Want to take a shot at grabbing it? If we can’t, we’ll use magic.” |
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She slipped her gloves on and then eyed the nearest tank. “First we need gloves but I think they may be trying to hide or blend in with the amenonemoneme…. It’d be smart so they don’t get caught by their predators.” she explained before slipping her gloved hand in the water and slowly moving it towards the anemone. “Where else do you think they could hide?” |
Attempting catch-up SPOILER!!: Catch-up Heath listened carefully as Professor Paszek went over the next activity. He had to admit, feeding the murtlaps sounded pretty fun - but wait! They had to catch them first? That sounded difficult. He wondered why they couldn’t just feed the murtlaps while they were still in the aquarium, but he was sure there must be a reason. Otherwise the professor wouldn’t have told them to do it that way. As everyone split into groups, his eyes flicked toward Claudine, but he saw she was already partnered with Evan. Did they need another person? Probably not. It looked like they were pretty far along…. As was nearly everyone else. He decided to go solo for this one and made his way to the aquarium where he last saw the murtlap, but it was no longer there. Where did it go? His dark eyes scanned the tank in search of anything that looked like legs or teeth, and he spotted something in the far corner. Was that the murtlap? He couldn’t tell for sure, but just in case, he didn’t want to spook it. He remained still, giving the murtlap (wherever it was) time to get used to his presence before making a move. So how was he supposed to catch it without scaring it? He thought and suddenly remembered that murtlaps go for people’s feet. Maybe the same applied to fingers. If so, maybe he could use that to lure it out and grab it while it was distracted. He cautiously dipped a gloved finger into the aquarium near the place he thought he saw the murtlap and wiggled it back and forth. “Come out wherever you are,” he whispered. “Get the finger…” |
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Just as Professor Paszek was giving them more to the activity to complete. Oh, so once they found a murtlap, they had to feed it. That sounded easy enough, except... "Couldn't we just lure it to us with the food?" You know, since they liked to hide and all. It worked with his cat. Whenever he wanted it to come out and play, he just had to offer treats. |
SPOILER!!: ashdiogjo we see what you did there "Grab and lift sounds good to me." Sometimes simple was the best route to take. He had no qualms with doing things without being reliant on spells, with magic school it just always seemed necessary outside of Muggle Studies. The reminder that most things in Care of Magical Creatures could be accomplished without as well, it was a welcomed one. He watched her hand movement in the water, seeing the murtlap a lot more clearly as well now. He stood a bit taller on his tiptoes, giving himself better reach as she spoke. The creature was in fact moving quite a bit closer but he waited a bit longer for it to get even closer before ... splash. He thrust his hand in, probably scaring a few others in the container (sorry creatures) and getting a splash of water on himself, though he did not see if it got Claudine as well. The important thing was though, the quick movement seemed to have worked as his fingers gently closed around the creature and pulled it out of the water. "Got him!" Was it just him or was it kind of cute? "Want a snack, little buddy?" And no, Evan did not mean any of his digits. He was quite glad for his dragonhide gloves. "Which food do you think we should start with?" He was leaning seaweed, but for no real reason. He didn't know much about what a murtlap's diet was so if she had any insight to what it might prefer, he was all ears. |
SPOILER!!: hehe it's gonna be a thing now <3 Go, team. See, this is why Claudine liked Evan. He was such a no-nonsense kind of person and was actually helpful. She grinned in delight as he caught the slippery little murtlap. She hurried over to Evan, her attention fully on the creature. “Hi, there. You can be awfully difficult to catch, little fellow.” Oh wow. It really does look like a rat,” she thought to herself as her gaze took in the creature. Right. Food. “Um, how about prawns?” The Snakette moved over to the buckets to scoop one of the big shrimp up. While Evan held the murtlap, she put the prawn to its little mouth. “Here you go. Eat up.” Or not? Which was very cool too. |
Prawns to start (and been here all along, I have...) Violet, looking a little worse for wear, had finally managed to track down and grab a murtlap, though getting herself wet and slightly muddy in the process. Now, holding it with both hands (sensibly encased in dragon-hide gloves), she admired the anemone-like growth on its back. She really wished she could get some of those to pickle and try brewing with, but she supposed there was no discreet way to do that in the middle of class. So--food. Violet herself hated sardines and anchovies, and wasn't much excited by seaweed, so she tried first the food she herself would most like to have eated--prawns. "Here you go," she murmured in a sing-song-like voice, "here's a nice fat prawn for you, fella..." and she gingerly held out the prawn to her murtlap. |
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"Why not? I think that's brilliant, Apollo," she nodded and removed her gloved hand from the water. "Do you want to do the honours of luring with the treat? It's carnivorous so maybe we do a fish or prawn?" |
SPOILER!!: Evan Nam and Claudine Blaze The murtlap wriggled in the boy's hands, its little nose sniffing about now that it was out of the water. Something smelled tasty. Were those fingers? No, prawns? The murtlap strained as it reached for the prawn, opening its little mouth as wide as it could to snatch the crustacean from the girl's hands. Clinging to the prawn with its paws, it nibbled away, wiggling its tentacles, tails, and toes as it munched. YUM. Could it have more? SPOILER!!: Violet Blackthorne Violet's murtlap wasn't happy with being held. Biting at the air and wiggling as much as it could, it didn't notice at first that its captor was speaking to it. What it did notice, however, was the most tantalizing-looking prawn in the world, suspended in front of its face by some sort of weird-looking rock. Oh, that was a hand? It didn't much matter, the murtlap took a big bite out of the prawn, chewed a little, then gobbled up the rest. Prawn gone, it went after the prawn holding hand-rock. Oh, that didn't taste as good. It returned to biting at the air, in the hopes something tasty would materialize in front of it again. |
After another few minutes of searching, giving up, feeling irritated and searching again - valentina finally managed to get one. She held the little creature tenderly, super worried that it was just going to jump off any second. But, it seemed to stay put. She slowly walked over to where the buckets were - wrinkling her nose a bit. Now, to feed the murtlap. She awkwardly held it with one hand as she picked up a fish and slowly moved it towards the murtlap's mouth. "Hope you are hungry." It had to be, right?? This activity wouldn't make sense otherwise. |
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He felt his cheeks growing warm. Brilliant, what!?!? "Oh.. uh ... sure, i guess I can. Maybe we try prawn first." Taking a couple he plunged his gloved hand into the aquarium, wriggling the prawns around to maybe get the attention of the murtlap. Just uh ... as an after-thought, Apollo realized it probably wasn't the best method? |
SPOILER!!: Valentina Nichols Here was one sleepy murtlap. It lay comfortably in Valentina's hand, dozing until the strong scent of fish reached its little nose. Wiggling its nose slightly as it investigated the scent, the murtlap sniffed the fish, then took a tentative bite of fish. SPOILER!!: Lisa Nam and Apollo Adara-Stark ATTACK!!!! The murtlap sprung from its hiding place among the anemone, going straight for the gloved hand invading its home. This murtlap didn't want to be taken like the others! It batted the glove angrily, then noticed--PRAWN! Disregarding the imminent invasion of its anemone, the murtlap scuttled over to the prawn and started nibbling. |
Heath waited patiently for a murtlap to come out of hiding, moving only his finger. When one came close enough, he reached into the aquarium with his other hand to grab it. Somehow he managed to keep his grip on the little creature long enough to get it out of the tank. "Hello, little guy," he whispered, holding the murtlap gently yet firmly enough to keep it from escaping. "Don't be scared… I won't hurt you." He didn't know why he was talking to the murtlap! Maybe he thought it might calm down if it got used to his voice, or maybe it was because animals were easier to talk to than most people. Whatever the reason, he kept talking to the murtlap. "I'm sorry for taking you out of your tank. How about I make it up to you?" Still holding the murtlap, he made his way to the buckets. He glanced from one bucket to the next, debating which snack to give the murtlap first. He initially thought to save the prawns for last, fearing that the little creature might turn its nose up at the offerings of fish or seaweed later. Then again, if he was going to make a proper peace offering, it should be something the creature would most likely enjoy, right? He picked up a prawn. "Would you like a snack?" He said, offering it to the murtlap. |
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Well, let's see if it likes other fish. Holding the murtlap away from her as far as possible, Violet awkwardly grabbed some of the small fish--anchovies, from the smell of them. Not her favorite thing, but maybe the murtlap would like them. Finding it awkward to hold a murtlap in one hand and offer it food in the other, Violet finally manged to offer three anchovies, holding them by the very, very ends to try to avoid more biting (sure, the gloves seemed to work, but no sense in taking chances). |
SPOILER!!: Heathcliff Jones The murtlap would like a snack. Tentacles quivering nervously, it stretched its head toward the delicious looking prawn. Gingerly biting the crustacean, the murtlap pulled the prawn toward itself, then pinned it down with its paws so it could eat. Nom nom nom. This giant human was a good one. It wouldn't try to eat his fingers or toes. This prawn was much tastier. SPOILER!!: Violet Blackthorne At first the murtlap thought the anchovies were more prawn. And it loved prawn. It licked an anchovy. Hm. Not prawn. But, much tastier than the weird gloved hand. The murtlap took a tentative bite of anchovy. Definitely not prawn. But...it was still hungry, so it took another bite. Okay. Two bites were enough. Maybe if it didn't eat the fish, and didn't bite the hand, then the hand would deliver more prawns. ooc: You've got a few more hours to try feeding your murtlaps before we wrap up! |
She forced a smile on her lips when he gave her that look. Well he had said he got it but she didn’t buy it. He.. he didn’t get that reference, did he? Sometimes she forgot that not everyone was raised as a muggleborn so she bit her lip. Sometimes she felt like no matter which world, magical or Muggle, there was an part of her that always had to be explained. Lisa laced her fingers together before wringing her hands out. Yeah….. That was it. No. It was… something else. Call it…. Uniqueness. Yeah. Lisa chalked it up to that. Prawn was a good idea, yeah. And he was blushing. The last time that he blushed around her was when the mistletoe were around the school. And then she could have sworn that she saw him blushing around her sister, Maya. Hmm… someone else to meddle with. Eyebrows raised, she looked at his flushed cheeks before back at his gloved hand in the tank. They didn’t have to wait too long until the murtlap CHARGED!!! “I’ll hold it!” she said and quickly put her gloved hands into the water to grab either side of it. “We’ll need another prawn? We’ll just have to keep on feeding it.” |
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"Right ... prawn. Got it." And he grabbed two whole handfuls, probably way more than he should have and basically dropped them into the aquarium. "So uh... i guess we pull it out as soon we can?" |
This little guy was certainly wriggly. Evan was very focused on just trying to apply the right amount of pressure while holding him - not too little so the little guy could escape, but not too tight either so that he could be injured. It took a lot of concentration for some reason, and frankly he was kind of scared to try only one hand - especially to write anything down. "Do you mind if I copy your notes later for how he reacted?" Her? It? The murtlap. "It seems he was very interested in the prawn, it's almost like his whole body is waving in happy." It was actually... kind of adorable. And it clearly seemed to want more too. He felt a little more confident in his grip if the distraction of food would be present, so he moved closer to the pail with the fish in it. Grabbing a small piece, Evan offered it to the creature. "I wonder if it'll be as excited about this one." Or maybe prawn was it's favorite. Was prawn all of their favorite? |
Evan and the murtlap! Claudine took the wiggling to mean that the murtlap was having a wonderful time chomping down on prawns. She was delighted to see it eat with such enthusiasm. It seemed Evan seemed to be thinking along the same lines. As for the notes… “Sure. That’ll be no problem.” Once the prawn was completely gone, Claudine removed a glove and took a quick moment to make some notes, her book and quill now levitating beside her. Ah, the joys of magic. “Let’s see,’’ she remarked, moving closer to the fish pail as well. The quill and book followed so that they could easily be grabbed when notes were ready to be written. “Just offering up speculation here but I’d like to think that maybe he likes fishes too. Maybe not all kinds but a few?” Perhaps not the type Evan had selected? Only the murtlap would tell. |
SPOILER!!: murtlap replies Mia had tried not to interfere with the students' fishy experimentation. Even when one of the them grabbed way too many prawn. After all, there were plenty, and the murtlaps loved crustaceans. Clearly, at least one pair had figured that out. Checking her watch, she clapped her hands. It was time to finish up. "Okay, class," she announced. "Time to finish up and return the murtlaps to their aquariums. Hopefully you all discovered that our little friends prefer prawns, or other crustaceans, over other food, and don't care at all for the seaweed." There was plenty of seaweed left in the bucket, so it seemed a reasonable conclusion. "It's important, any time we have creatures in captivity, to have done our research on where they live and what they eat, so we can give them as close to natural lifestyle as possible." She checked her notes to remind herself what their homework was. "Until next class, I'd like you all to pay attention to the world around you. Bring an example of either a magical or mundane creature, and some key elements of their natural habitat." She was hoping for lots of bird examples, herself, but there were plenty of other options. "You all have a good rest of your day." ooc: Thanks for playing everybody! You can wrap up your murtlap activities and return them to the aquariums. And post your kiddos leaving, if you like. This thread will stay open for about 16 hours. |
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"Goodbye, Professor," she called as she gathered up her things and headed to her next class. |
Valentina blinked when the little creature went back to sleep. OH NO. Does this mean it wasn't interested in the fish at all?? Uhhh. She dropped the half eaten fish back into the bucket before reaching for the some prawns instead - which it seemed to really like. She happily fed him some when the professor asked them to finish up. The blonde petted it's little head a couple of times before gently placing it back in the aquarium with a little smile. "I'll miss you." She whispered before pulling out her gloves. "Thank you, professor! See you next class." She packed up her things before heading back to the castle. |
SPOILER!!: Cute Bby murtlap <3 Heath watched the murtlap intently, unsure how it would react to him. He was prepared for wiggling or biting, but none happened. That was a good sign, right? Then he noticed the little creature’s tentacles quivering. Poor thing was probably scared out of its wits! There must be something else he could do to calm it. While he was trying to think of something, he saw the murtlap pull the prawn toward itself and pin it. Aww, so cute! Something about the way the murtlap pinned that prawn reminded Heath of the way Rey would pin her cat toys. He smiled, watching the little creature gobble up the prawn. “Oh, you like prawns, do you?” he said with a soft chuckle. He filed that bit of information away in his brain for later, as he couldn’t exactly stop and take notes while he was still holding the murtlap.* All Heath wanted to do was keep holding the murtlap and feeding it prawns until class was over, but then he remembered the assignment. “I’ll bet you’re still hungry,” he said. “How about we try something else this time?” He started to reach into a different bucket, but before he could pull out a fish, the professor called time. Darn! "Looks like it's time to go back," he said, gently carrying the murtlap back to its aquarium. He may or may not have snuck it an extra prawn along the way. Grabbing his bag, he took one last look at the little murtlap before turning to leave. "Bye, Professor," he said. "Thanks for the lesson!" |
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