Making a spectacle on Care of Magical Creatures

Professor Kijewski

December 07, 2008 6:20 PM

Lesson 1 for First and Second Years by Professor Kijewski

Kiva stood in the middle of her clearing waiting patiently for her new first years and returning second years to meet her for their next lesson. It still felt very odd not having her office or quarters like she had since the start of her teaching career and Kiva felt like she was losing out on connecting with her students because she was heading home at night instead of just to her living space. But, she had known what was at stake when she had decided to have Emery. She can only hope that her students knew that they could still go to her for anything that they needed.

“Good morning everyone!” Kiva greeted her students once she felt that they had all managed to return to the clearing and that no one else was going to come. “I hope you all slept well.” Kiva smiled at a couple of the first years who still seemed rather unsure of either her or her class. She couldn’t blame them. There were times when they would be handling questionable creatures, but Kiva hoped that they were able to take something from her lessons. Whether that be an enjoyment of the learning, or simply being able to tell a crup from a terrier. Either way, it shows that they had been able to take away something from her lessons.

“As you all should know by now that the purpose of Care of Magical Creatures is for you to have a better understanding of the type of magical creatures are currently residing in our world. How to handle them and how to identify them. It’s really quite simple, but handling certain creatures can be quite dangerous.” Kiva paused in her lecture as a group of students started whispering to one another. One of Kiva’s rules was for students to not talk while she was talking. Her second rule was for students to remain quiet when a classmate was talking. This were rules that everyone had, both in and out of the classroom.

She waited patiently for the group to realize that she had stopped her lesson for them and once they quieted again, she continued talking. “Although we will be exploring more complicated and dangerous creatures as you continue with your education here at Sonora, we also have the opportunity to explore the creatures that most people overlook or take for granted. They can be the simple creatures that you keep as your pets to those that may be more significant size-wise but ones that you don’t necessarily give much thought to.” Kiva paused and waved her wand. A few yards behind her, a large box with quarter-sized holes in the sides floated over to the group of first and second years. Setting the box down, Kiva pulled the top off a bit and pulled out a fluffy ball.

“Today we are going to have a fun lesson that focuses on the little creatures people often forget about. This, my friends, is a Puffskein. And this-“ Kiva pulled out a smaller pink version of the Puffskein, “is a Pygmy Puff. These creatures are parents favorites to give because they are easy to care for and never make a mess.” Kiva placed the Pygmy Puff on her shoulder and them proceeded to toss the Puffskein in the air. “These creatures are scavengers, they’ll eat about anything. Leftover foods, insects, probably garbage-but I wouldn’t feed them just that. They also don’t mind to be tossed around. Most actually enjoy the attention. If you listen closely, you can hear this guy purring.” Kiva quieted down so that the students could hear the loud purring sound that was emitting from the Puffskein as she tossed it around.

“I have a large abundance of Puffskeins and Pygmy Puffs that was given to me by a friend. These little guys need a home and, if you get your parents permission, you guys can all have one for yourselves.” Kiva announced to them. The puffskeins had been a huge hit a few years ago, but she had had a few issues with some students regarding the parental permission. “at. "If everyone could just stand up and grab one puffskein or pygmy puff, you may take the rest of class and play with them or toss them between one another.” Kiva took the top off the large box and stepped to the side to allow the young students to pick out the ones they wanted.

“Please remember that everyone needs to participate, even with this lesson. Also, you have until the end of the month to get your parents permission to keep on for yourself. At the end of this month, whatever puffskeins or pygmy puffs left will be going back to my friend.”

OOC: I wrote this lesson as though they’ve already had a few lessons throughout the year because based on the schedule, we’re closing in on midterm. This way, you guys don’t have to feel like it’s still in the first week of starting school. Have fun with it and remember that in order to receive points for your house, your posts must be detailed, creative, and no less than 200 words (this was the minimum requirement asked in your sample post for your application).

Please note that there is a separate thread for your parents’ letters on whether or not you have permission to keep the puffskein/pygmy puff. If I do not receive any notice from your character’s parents stating that they are allowed to keep the creature and you are writing anywhere on the boards with the creature, I will OOC you and take away points. This is your warning.

Subthreads:

Dude. (or Girl, not picky ;D) (OOC Question) by Kyler Kent with Professor K.

*squeals* by Pippa Brockert with Daniel Nash II

Falling to meet a person by Taylor Li with Deepa Rajaram

No fair by Charlotte Abbott

Not really seeing the attraction. by Ian Grimm with Adelita Garcia [Crotalus], Ian

Making a spectacle by Nathaniel Leon with Quentin Melcher, Nathaniel

They're kinda like magical, living skittles, really. by Eun Ae and Mike Song

Lesson closed, but continue posting if you like. (nm) by Professor K.

0 Professor Kijewski Lesson 1 for First and Second Years 0 Professor Kijewski 1 5

Kyler Kent

December 07, 2008 9:51 PM

Dude. (or Girl, not picky ;D) (OOC Question) by Kyler Kent

OOC: Do Pygmy Puffs only come in pink and purple? Or can I man it up for Kyler?

BIC:

Care of Magical Creatures has always been one of Kyler's favorite subjects. All other topics (besides History of Magic) involved some sort of spell work. Which wasn't a strength of his. Kyler just couldn't get a hold of the magic part of this school. Whenever a spell did work, Kyler got a boost of confidence. So he was a wizard! Comec was so upbeat all the time and he didn't even have to lift his wand! Thank you, Professor K... Kyler took a seat on the grass, near the front for once. The lesson started and Kyler tuned in. He never took notes. The stuff from this class usually stuck in his mind anyway. Kyler's brown eyes widened a bit in enjoyment as Prof. K spoke about the fun looking poof in her hand.

What?
What? Did she say they could have one of the little buggers? Yes! That's so cool! Kyler didn't imagine his parents would have a problem with keeping one... Not Mom at least because she was cool like that. He and his mother had always been tight. Roxy liked to keep it real when she was at home with him. She spent so much time at the studio that she clung to him the second she arrived home. Most kids would find that annoying, but Kyler didn't mind. He would if he had one of those hovering mothers that didn't talk about anything except schoolwork and the importance of respecting your elders and such... Sure she did that, but she also talked to him about her back-in-the-day days when she was in high school. They had plenty in common.

Like their love for the movies and the mountains. Mom would treat Kyler to a movie on her day off and they would sit in the back and critique the horrid effects and such. The mountains... Well, they lived in Colorado. Just this past summer the two had climbed the 54th highest peak in Colorado. Sunshine Peak was 14,001 feet tall. And they did it. It. Was. Amazing. Pulling his mind back from the summer, Kyler stood up, smoothing his brown hair before going to pluck one of the Pygmy Puffs from their boxy home. He picked one up, smiling at its fuzziness and happy nature. One of these would definitely be cool to have! Kyler returned to his spot, poking at the Puff's fuzz and hearing it purr. He turned to sit down, but found someone in his spot. Freezing in midturn, Kyler said,

"Oh, hi." He took a spot beside them and grinned. "I'm Kyler."

0 Kyler Kent Dude. (or Girl, not picky ;D) (OOC Question) 0 Kyler Kent 0 5

Pippa Brockert

December 07, 2008 10:27 PM

squeals by Pippa Brockert

It was everything Pippa could do to just to hold in her excitement at the puffskeins and pygmy puffs. She'd always secretly wanted one but was a bit afraid to ask her parents for a pet for fear of what Tawny might do to it. It wasn't that Pippa thought her sister would deliberately hurt an animal. In fact, she couldn't conceive of anyone hurting an animal deliberately-or even hurting a person deliberately for that matter. Even though Pippa had scars from her sister's bouts of accidental magic brought on by fits of temper, she knew it was just that: accidental. Still, she knew an animal might not necessarily be safe.

However, now Pippa would be at Sonora most of the year. She wasn't subjected quite so much to Tawny's fits. An animal would be safer. She was sure her parents would let her have one, it was just that she had never asked before. Tawny would probably still be jealous though, but perhaps Pippa could ask Professor Kijewski if she could have one for her sister too. It's not like it was a hard pet to care for. On the other hand, though, would that be fair to the other students? Pippa would hate to take two and leave someone with none. That wouldn't be right. Maybe she would ask if there were any left once the end of the month was up.

She approached the box and froze. Did she want a pygmy puff or a full sized puffskein? Plus, it was so hard to pick just one. Pippa found them all so adorable. Maybe she should let the other students pick first. There was something about picking that last one that nobody else wanted. "Precious aren't they?" She asked the person next to her.

11 Pippa Brockert *squeals* 132 Pippa Brockert 0 5

Professor K.

December 07, 2008 10:51 PM

OOC: Answer by Professor K.

According to the Lexicon, they only come in pink and purple. Sorry!

0 Professor K. OOC: Answer 0 Professor K. 0 5

Daniel Nash II

December 08, 2008 12:37 AM

Not quite the word I had in mind by Daniel Nash II

Even after a couple of weeks, Daniel was still dubious about the Care of Magical Creatures class. Sure, he was learning about an entirely different set of creatures that he would otherwise know nothing about at all. That made it worthwhile if nothing else. But the fact of the matter was that Daniel did not like animals, and they were simply too close to him in this class.

Until today's lesson, he thought there couldn't be anything worse than a kitten. Cats were bad, but kittens were the absolute worst thing ever created by God or Nature (depending, of course, on which of the two one believed was responsible for the existence of kittens).

He was wrong.

He was wrong twice over, in fact. There were two species that were worse than kittens.

He went up to the bin because participation was part of his grade and as much as he knew this couldn't go well, he wasn't about to let his report card suffer for it. He peered into the boxed and a lifetime of acting was the only reason he was able to keep a neutral expression on his face as he looked at the sea of pink and purple fur.

At least kittens came in less offensive colors.

And then it happened. Even with his natural acting talent and years of experience, he couldn't help but cringe.

"Precious, aren't they?"

It wasn't quite as bad as his grandmother's, "Ooo, who's a kitty? You're a kitty! Yes, you are, you sweetie wittle kitty-witty." But it was still grating.

Daniel figured the long-term exposure effects just hadn't settled in yet.

IQ points would start falling away any minute now.

He really did not want to touch the things and risk becoming infected. Maybe if he treated the creature like the ball in a game of keep-away or hot potato, it wouldn't be so bad. Perhaps limiting skin-to-fur contact would also be of some help.

Having already removed his robe (the professor for this class was less strict about the dress code). He wished he'd gone with one of his t-shirts instead of his North Hollywood Academy uniform for his under-robe clothes. Well, there was no avoiding it. He untucked his white button down shirt and held the bottom edge out in front of him. He reached into the bin quickly as if reaching into a tank full of venomous snakes and picked up the first one that came to hand. As quickly as he could he yanked his hand back and dropped the mass of fur into the bowl of his shirt and swiftly wiped both sides of his contaminated hand off on the side of his slacks.

He was almost positive the furry beast began immediately to gnaw on his tie. He chastised himself for not removing that with his robe.

Giving the girl who had asked if they were precious a sour look, Daniel decided the probably rhetorical question deserved some kind of response. "Precious," he repeated her word with exaggerated care, "doesn't even begin to describe them."\r\n\r\n

1 Daniel Nash II Not quite the word I had in mind 130 Daniel Nash II 0 5

Taylor Li

December 08, 2008 2:39 AM

Falling to meet a person by Taylor Li

Since the beginning of the year, Kinetic had begun to rapidly develop and was no longer as tiny, which meant that Taylor could leave him alone in her dorm room without nearly the worry she had before. She still didn’t let him free roam unless she was there to supervise, but he seemed content to stay in the playpen she had set up. She had even put in a stuffed animal that he sometimes war danced with. It was a relief though to be able to leave him there rather than having to constantly monitor her ferret, because it had ended up with her paying more attention to him at times rather than the lesson.

She was especially thankful today. While Care of Magical Creatures was an interesting class (she loved animals), it wasn’t her top rated class. It just didn’t have enough of a scientific element for her tastes. However, seeing that small ball of fur that Professor Kiva took out made her eyes light up with the same excitement as when she had seen ferrets for the first time and her ears came to rapt attention to hear more about them. At the mention of their eating habits, she wondered briefly if this wasn’t where the idea of the movie Critters was conceived, albeit exaggerated, but still.

Although, she couldn’t say she minded the idea of having an army of them. They would be scientifically engineered so that there would not only be purple and pink pygmy puffs, but there would be a rainbow of them that would systematically take over the world with their cuteness. It was mad scientist genius. She mused over the thought that maybe she should consider being a screen writer rather than being the actual mad scientist since they really never came out well in the end since their plan was always somehow foiled. This was also cause to believe that she watched far too many movies, but she could blame her mother for that.

She also wasn’t going to be too happy when she found out that Taylor was going to have another pet, but Taylor was sure that her father would write a letter to Professor K just the same. Going up the box, she looked first at the puffskeins, simply to be polite, but she knew her mind was already made up to have a pygmy puff. A puffskein would probably scare Kinetic too much at this point since he was still a baby. The pygmy puff was kind of like a baby. From there, she knew she wanted a pink one rather than a purple one. Kinetic’s current stuffed animal was purple and she didn’t want him to get confused.

Looking over the pink pygmy puffs, she waited for that feeling, the same one she had with Kinetic, the one that said this was the perfect one and soon enough it came in the form of one that was buried under two purple ones, a little smaller than most and seemingly lethargic in comparison. She picked it up, cradling it in her arms. This was her pygmy puff. She even had a name already picked out for her lacking energy companion, Potential. She was sure that he or she would get along beautifully with her ferret considering the ability to play a little roughly. Kinetic would be happy to have a friend that he could dook at and bounce around with.

A grin on her face, she hurried back towards where she had left her things in a pile. Unfortunately, paying more attention to Potential than where she was actually walking, she tripped over someone else’s bag causing her to fall onto her knees so her puff wouldn’t get hurt. “There, there, are you all right?” She cooed to the pink bundle. After making sure the creature was fine, she looked to the person. “I’m so sorry,” she said with a slight wince, as now her one knee was throbbing slightly. It would probably be swollen later. She glanced to their bag. “Is everything okay? Is anything broken?”

0 Taylor Li Falling to meet a person 128 Taylor Li 0 5

Deepa Rajaram

December 09, 2008 2:47 PM

Not falling, but meeting! by Deepa Rajaram

OOC: Namaste, bachcha means, roughly, 'hey there, little one,' in Hindi.

Deepa was mildly intrigued by the Care of Magical Creatures class; it was fun, learning about such interesting animals. At the same time, she had to consider it something of a 'fluff' class. Oh, it was valuable, of course, and she looked forward to it, but it just didn't seem to have the same level of academic rigor as classes like Potions or Transfiguration. Maybe it would be more of a challenge when they got older; Professor Kijewski obviously couldn't expose them to much, given their age.

Sometimes, then--despite her best efforts--Deepa's mind wandered during class. It was so nice to be outside; she kicked off her sandals, set them neatly beside her in front of her bag, and hugged her knees to her chest. The grass was cool beneath her soles, and the sun was warm on her face. She turned her face upward, absorbing as much heat as she could, and struggled to keep her mind fixed on the professor's speech; her mind kept wandering home, to India.

"...and, if you get your parents' permission, you guys can all have one for yourselves."

Deepa opened her eyes. Wait, what? They could have one? What animal was it they were working with today? She really should have been paying more attention, she thought with a pang of guilt (and a little stab of fear that the professor might ask her a question she was unprepared to answer). Seeing everyone crowding around a playpen in the clearing, she hopped up and padded barefoot over to join them.

Puffskeins and Pygmy Puffs! Her cousin Neena, who lived in India, had a pink Puff; she'd brought it with her last year when they'd come down to Agra for the Diwali festivities in October. She smiled and reached down, touching the nearest with one finger. It shivered and purred. Deepa smiled softly and bent down to pick it up, cradling it in her hands. "Namaste, bachcha," she said, petting it carefully. It purred and squirmed happily in her hands. Making sure she had it safely in hand, she slipped away from the playpen to allow her classmates better access, and went back to where she'd left her bag--

--Just in time to see a girl with brown hair trip over her bag and fall to her knees. Deepa clucked her tongue with worry and hurried over as the girl climbed back to her feet, cradling her own fluffball--a pink Pygmy Puff, like Neena's.

"I'm so sorry. Is everything okay? Is anything broken?" the girl asked her.

Deepa shook her head without checking. "Unless you can break parchment and biros, no," she assured the girl with a small smile. "Are you okay? And your Pygmy Puff?"

0 Deepa Rajaram Not falling, but meeting! 0 Deepa Rajaram 0 5

Charlotte Abbott

December 18, 2008 5:47 AM

No fair by Charlotte Abbott

There was no possible way Charlotte would decide which was her favorite class at school. Most of them were just so unbelievably awesome. Well, not potions, but even DADA had it's good moments. Care of magical creatures was so cool - not much magic involved, but Charlie was learning about stuff she'd never quite believed was real. Her Uncle Ray had always told her about dragons and unicorns but Charlotte had thought that, like most uncles, he was just telling her stories of make believe. So not true. Okay, so she wasn't likely to see unicorns or dragons in her school classes, but some of the stuff they did learn about was amazing.

Like today - puffskeins were officially the cutest animal in the world. Even cuter than penguins. Charlie joined many of the girls in squealing with delight at the sight of the pastel colored pygmy puffs. Yet her heart sank when the professor mentioned needing parental permission. There was no way in seven lifetimes that her parents were going to let her have a puffskein. No magic at home; that was the rule. Charlie knew from Oliver's past few years that a magical pet was way off the agenda. Her mom threw a fit whenever an owl came by.

Charlotte was on the verge of sulking until it was announced they had the class to play with the cute critters. It was no way as good as taking one home for herself, but at least she got the chance to play with one. Hurriedly rushing forward to take a puffskein, Charlie reached out for the nearest pink pygmy. She couldn't believe how cute and fluffy and small it was! "Aww," she cooed at it, stepping away from the crowds. She wondered vaguely if anyone notice her slipping it in her pocket and hiding it away forever, but decided that she would get found out sooner or later, and it probably wasn't fair to poor Puffy anyway. "Wish I could take you home with me," she told it, squeezing it gently.

0 Charlotte Abbott No fair 135 Charlotte Abbott 0 5

Pippa

December 20, 2008 11:37 PM

I'm not sure I want to know what word you were thinking of by Pippa

Pippa was taken aback by the response of the boy next to her, especially the look he gave her. He seemed sort of unhappy. She should have known that not everyone would find the puffskeins and pygmy puffs as utterly adorable as she did. Especially boys. Pippa didn't know very much about the other gender but from what she understood, they were not usually as into soft cuddly things as girls. Or were not supposed to be at least. She really didn't understand why.

Instead he was acting like the creatures were diseased. Maybe he was a germaphobe or from some upper class family that treated animals like they would contaminate people. It was too bad when people acted like that over harmless critters. Pippa could see if they were poisonous or otherwise dangerous in some way but puffskiens and pygmy puffs were so. If it was a phobia, maybe there was something that could be done to help him. She would hate for him to be suffering. Fears could really affect a person in a bad way but everyone had something. For example, Pippa was afraid of objects flying towards her.

She felt bad. She didn't want the boy to be unhappy and she certainly didn't want to be the cause of it. "Is something wrong?" she asked, picking up one of the puffskiens. Oh it was so cute! "They're harmless you know. They won't hurt you and you won't catch a disease from it." Pippa assured him.

11 Pippa I'm not sure I want to know what word you were thinking of 132 Pippa 0 5

Ian Grimm

December 21, 2008 8:34 PM

Not really seeing the attraction. by Ian Grimm

Care of Magical Creatures rated in as a dead last place when it came to Ian's preference in subjects. Transfiguration took a solid first, with Potions and Charms following close behind. DADA and History of Magic took the middle ground, existing in a pleasant plane of ambivalence. CoMC huddled as an extreme outlier, mostly because the class held no relevance to his present or future goals. Which wasn't to say that Professor Kijewski was a poor teacher or that her lessons were boring. Ian was simply of the mindset that time was the most valuable commodity, and he disliked having his time spent in the pursuit of things he had no interest in.

In particular, he found absolutely no point to learning about pink and purple link balls that masqueraded as living creatures. He couldn't help the frown that curled his lips at the suggestion that he take on one of the useless things as a pet. It was bad enough he was going to be forced to spend the class period having to touch it.

"You've got to be kidding me. . ." he muttered to himself, brown eyes incredulous. Nevertheless, he pushed up his glasses, set aside his school robes, and walked down toward the large box that swarmed with the tiny poofs. He was not careful in his choosing of one, preferring to spend the least amount of time possible holding it before retreating back to his robes and book-bag.

It didn't help matters that the creature was pink- and not a pleasant shade of pink at that. It was more of the obnoxious, unnatural neon sort of pink that screamed from bar windows and blinked adds from decaying billboards.

Ian dropped the puff as previous instructed and sighed when the thing decided to bounce in the opposite direction of his feet. Perhaps it could sense his annoyance. He followed after it with a muted sigh, wishing- not for the first time- that he was in his sixth year and free from the subject. His wishing grew in fervor when the ridiculous thing bounced its way into the lap of one of his classmates.

"Excuse me, mind throwing that thing back my way? It's not being particularly pliant."

0 Ian Grimm Not really seeing the attraction. 110 Ian Grimm 0 5

Adelita Garcia [Crotalus]

December 21, 2008 11:23 PM

No? I think the attraction is obvious. by Adelita Garcia [Crotalus]

Adelita had heard various things about the Care of Magical Creatures class. Her Tia Izzy still took the lessons even as a Seventh year despite the fact that she had no plans with working with animals after she graduated. She had told Lita that the creatures were always so much more interesting after their fifth year that she took the class merely out of curiosity. Her Tio Jose had explained that some lessons were more fun than others, but that could go for any lesson with any subject. Her Tio Matt didn’t care much about this class and only seemed to like it because they usually didn’t have to sit and listen for long periods of time.

Having since taken a coupe of lessons of this class, Adelita was following along the lines of her Tio Jose. There were lessons where Adelita found herself wandering onto other subjects or chit chatting with her friends while other lessons had her on her toes as she tried to retain everything that was told to her. Of course, she did that for a lot of her lessons too. So, it was rather hard to determine if she even had a favorite class just yet. Maybe after the year was over she would have a better understanding of where she stood with it all. What she was able to accomplish easily and what she struggled with.

This lesson, however, brought out the girl in her. Not that that was hard. Adelita was probably the definition of a girl. She liked to do her hair, she liked to wear skirts and dresses, and she even liked the color pink. When she was old enough, she even planned to wear makeup. But the pygmy puffs had Adelita ‘oooing’ with the rest of the girls while she fawned over the little creatures. But, really, how could she not? They were just so adorable! This lesson now placed Care of Magical Creatures close to the top of the other classes at this point in time.

“Hello, you cute little pink thing.” Adelita cooed while she picked out a purple pygmy puff and placed it against her cheek. Her parents hadn’t allowed them any pets back home in San Francisco because they traveled so much, but now that Adelita was in school and stable ten months out of the year, her parents were more open to the idea of the girls having a pet. And this creature would be the perfect type of pet. She knew that the moment she sent her letter off, her parents would agree. She just knew it. And, if they didn’t, she would resort to begging. They always gave in.

Taking the pygmy puff back to her belongings, Adelita sat cross legged (she had returned to jeans since first impressions weren’t so necessary anymore) on the ground. She was in the midst of playing with her purple plushy when a pink plushy rolled right into her lap. Giggling in surprise, Adelita addressed the new comer, “Why hello there, did you go and get yourself lost?” Although the pygmy puff didn’t answer her, another person did. Glancing up, Adelita saw a boy making his way over. By calling the creature ‘thing’ Adelita assumed that the boy could care less about the little creature which caused for the corners of her mouth to twitch downward. Not because she felt that everyone should like animals, Merlin knew there were a few creatures Lita could live without, but because pygmy puffs were so harmless and vulnerable that she couldn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to just cuddle one. “Sure.” Adelita called out, picking up the pink plushy and tossing it lightly towards the boy. She was not a quidditch player, so she was sure her aim was going to be off… and by a lot. “Oh, sorry about that! I’m better on my feet than I am with my hands!” Adelita explained, hoping the boy wasn’t angry that he would have to chase the plushy again. “Maybe he just wants to play?” Lita suggested. She was sure that after being in the box with all the other puffs that the creature just wanted time to roll around in all this space.

0 Adelita Garcia [Crotalus] No? I think the attraction is obvious. 0 Adelita Garcia [Crotalus] 0 5

Nathaniel Leon

December 22, 2008 2:24 PM

Making a spectacle by Nathaniel Leon

Care of Magical Creatures! Nathaniel could have repeated it running down a hallway. Today was the Care of Magical Creature’s class day! He had been waiting for that class since he found out what it was. Animals! Nathaniel loved animals, he had since he was very, very small. Though his family never owned any creature, he had experience with a few puppies and cats. One of Dad’s friends had a monkey that played on his shoulder, the monkey had bit Star before, but wasn’t against playing with Nathaniel. He had seen all sorts of animals, in school they took a trip to a wolf farm where the man there lived with wolves and bears and bobcats and everything (he had been allowed to feed the wolf pup!).

Yep, Nathaniel loved those animals, and when he found out there was an entire class here devoted solely on animals he’d never seen before or never believed existed? Well the boy was overjoyed! And when he woke up to realize that he was going to that class today? Well he was even more joyed! Nathaniel slid out of bed with a thump, tangled legs and all as he struggled to untwist himself from his blankets and own feet. When that happened, his trip to the bathroom was brief. He was too excited to be tired, really!

With his straight, longish hair tangled and wet, Nathaniel threw on anything he could find. The torn pants on his bed (from falling off of his bike) were stained with color, just like absolutely every piece of clothing he owned. The used-to-be-just-white t-shirt was piled over with robes, he checked his appearance in the mirror once. Only catching a piece of hair that stuck up above the others, which he hurriedly smoothed down (only for it to come right back up), and got his things together. He skipped out of the Teppenpaw commons, and was flying high all the way outside, to class.

Bouncy Nathaniel stood in the middle of it all, practically sweating his happiness out. A quick survey, Nathaniel found Pippa and Adelita, the two people he had talked to so far, and gave a quick wave to both girls. He looked around, hearing the teacher cut out, and realized she’d paused because a few people were talking. Nathaniel blushed deeply, not because he had been talking but because he would have been talking, normally. She talked on, about creatures, creatures, creatures! And Nathaniel, more than anything, wanted to get to seeing these creatures.

But he kept his mouth shut, and instead bounced a bit, radiating the energy he normally had. The childish energy most eleven-year-olds had already grown out of was still prominent in this boy. Especially when he watched the box magically float over to him (he had actually gasped, nope the magic thing was still new to the silly little Muggle-boy). Even better, the Professor (Kay?) Pulled out two balls of fluff. Obviously what they were working with today. He ‘oohes’ and ‘awwed’ along with a few girls, grinning wildly. They were cute, really really cute!

Clasping his hands behind his back, Nathaniel rocked on his feet, jumping out of this position in a second when he heard that, with parental permission, Nathaniel could actually keep one of these things. He hurried up there with everyone else, trying not to push and shove but to get there quickly and politely. When he made it to the boxes, his smile was wide. He pulled out the small one, the pygmy puff, without a second thought, then remembered why he had never had an actual “pet” before. Frowning, he wondered if his parents would allow it anyway.

“You won’t be a pet,” he told to puff seriously, thin lips touching the side of the adorable creature. He felt it purring against his skin, and laughed aloud from the vibrations. “Nope nope, you don’t belong to me at all. You’ll just stay with me, as a guest. Momma would love you, surely!” he spoke to the puff, composing the letter to his parents in his head. He could get the puff to come home with him. He walked out and away from the box, letting the puff wander under his robes. He laughed as it tickled him, diving into a pocket and stealing some crumbs from his pockets. “Ah!” he stumbled, grabbing another student for support. “He tickles!” he told the person, blushing when he realized he was holding someone else.

0 Nathaniel Leon Making a spectacle 133 Nathaniel Leon 0 5

Daniel

December 22, 2008 3:16 PM

Yeah, you probably don't. by Daniel

While the pygmy purple puff thing gnawed on Daniel's tie (he'd have to burn it, and the shirt he was wearing, at the first opportunity), Daniel regretted saying anything to the other girl as she tried to explain how harmless the small fuzzy intelligence-draining beast was.

"I'm allergic to cute," Danny explained, sounding utterly serious even though he was perfectly well aware that no scientific study could ever find that cuteness produced any kind of allergen. Holly had believed him for a few years, though, when he'd told her he was allergic to Barbies, so maybe it would work well enough as an excuse for his aversion to touching the thing.

Of course, the only person Danny knew who was more gullible than Holly was Molly. So maybe the girl would take it as a dry attempt at humor.

"I'm Daniel, by the way," he told her, hoping to elicit her name as well since calling her 'the girl' in his head was both imprecise and starting to get annoying. "And this," he added, with a slight grimace as he nodded down at the purple apparel eater, and thought fast to come up with an appropriately soul-sucking name, "is Kirby." It occurred to him he probably should have grabbed a pink fluffball if he was going to name it that, but purple was bad enough. If it did turn out that he liked girls, he didn't want to sabotage his chances this early.\r\n\r\n

1 Daniel Yeah, you probably don't. 130 Daniel 0 5

Ian

December 31, 2008 3:03 AM

I'm guessing you were going for sarcasm there. by Ian

"Thank you- " Ian cut off his words of gratitude once it became apparent that the return of the object of his pursuit would be further delayed. He also kept his internal commentary on mute, not having the desire to induce a potential argument over his suggestion that it wouldn't take much to improve upon that kind of throw. He supposed, though, that spending his class period toddling behind a minuscule piece of neon pink fluff was better than sitting down and poking at said piece of fluff. Still, he was not pleased.

"It's fine." His eyebrows quirked in consideration. "If this is how they play, then I think it's fair to state that their evolutionary status is sitting on the conservative side of simple."

He didn't wait for a response, not rightly expecting one and dutifully walked off to reign in his errant pygmy-puff. As it had done before, upon his approach, it began to make furtive bounds away from him and back again toward the seated girl. He finally gave into his desire to sigh aloud when it once again landed in the girl's lap. He held out a hand to stem any further attempts at returning the thing back to him. "No, don't bother. I'll just bring my stuff over here; it apparently likes you for whatever reason. . ."

It occurred to him, a touch belatedly, that his words could easily be construed as insulting. He threw a clarification over his shoulder as he knelt to gather together his school bag and robes. "I'm questioning its motivations there, not your merit, by the way." It did not occur to him to infuse any semblance of pleasantness or friendliness into his tone. Then again, Ian was who he was. He deposited his retrieved robes and bag in a neat pile across from the girl and took a similar stance, tucking his legs neatly to his side and perching his chin atop one propped up palm. He used his other hand to once again adjust his glasses back up his nose.

He made a mental note that beyond preferring that girl's lap to his presence, there seemed to be little to no peculiarities to the puff's behavior. "I'm Ian, incidentally- a second year in Aladren."

0 Ian I'm guessing you were going for sarcasm there. 0 Ian 0 5

Eun Ae and Mike Song

December 31, 2008 3:30 AM

They're kinda like magical, living skittles, really. by Eun Ae and Mike Song

"No, you can't," Eun Ae said immediately upon the lecture's end. She knew without a doubt that her brother would want one of the fluorescent creatures, and she also knew without a doubt that once summer hit and their mother realized what her induced permission had caused, she would be the one blamed. Somehow.

"Did I say anything?" Mike retorted, his annoyance obvious. "I know better than to ask Oma for one of those. It'll just cause problems down the road."

Eun Ae closed her mouth, more than a little knocked off balance by her brother's suddenly reasonable thinking. It wasn't like him to consider future ramifications. He was always more of the immediate gratification sort, and generally left the clean-up duties to her.

"What? I'm not an idiot- I know Oma would only end up getting mad at you." Her brother's tone plainly showed that he was bothered. "Geez, you're not the only one living in that house, you know. Besides, they're pink and purple. How would you expect me to live that down with Bae? Not likely." He paused, running a hand through his unkempt black hair. "Listen, I'll go get us one of those puffskeins- you wait here."

Eun Ae's lips pursed, her head inclined in silent acquiescence, as she watched her brother trot down to fetch one of the creatures from the large box that stood by their professor. It was strange, but from all of their shared classes, it was only in Care of Magical Creatures that they bothered to team up. Perhaps it was because animals and living things had never been an interest of theirs. Perhaps it was because Mike was far less likely to get away with trying to pull some sort of stunt- his past stunts generally revolved around doing something to her hair or clothes in hopes that she might get angry. There was also the presence of Professor K, who Eun Ae positively adored. Ever since she had learned the background of her CoMC's professor and her past post as Head of Aladren, Eun Ae had been waiting, with her fingers crossed and breath held for an announcement that those former posts would be once again picked up.

It seemed, though, for that term at least, Professor Flatt was remaining as her Head of House. Unfortunately. The man hardly inspired trust.

"Oi, Euna!"

She turned at her brother's call, brushing back a piece of errant black hair from her cheek. Her tightly wound braids rarely survived the outdoor lessons unscathed. Her brother held a pair of the larger creatures, one pink and one purple puffskein. Behind him, trailed another student. She lifted her eyes in question.

"Euna, you two meet yet? I thought our group could use another person. Three's company and all that."

She chose not to correct him and instead nodded in agreement, still remaining quiet. Mike rolled his eyes in overly dramatic exasperation. "This is why people think you're unfriendly." He turned to address their added companion, choosing that same moment to drop the two puffskeins at her feet. The two creatures immediately rolled themselves behind her ankles, as if using her legs for protection. Eun Ae couldn't help the small smile that crept across her lips.

"This is my sister-" Mike continued, apparently finishing off an introduction started earlier. "-Eun Ae, but just call her Euna- it's less syllables, so less of a pain."

0 Eun Ae and Mike Song They're kinda like magical, living skittles, really. 0 Eun Ae and Mike Song 0 5

Pippa

January 09, 2009 6:34 AM

My guess is that it would be one totally foreign to me by Pippa

Pippa knew very well that it was impossible to be allergic to cuteness and assumed he was just making a joke, so she smiled, if just out of politeness. It would be rude not to do at least that and she would hate to hurt his feelings. If Pippa told a joke and someone didn't laugh, she would be terribly hurt. Not that she told many. She didn't know any. The ones her grandpas and father told at parties weren't for her ears.

Still, nothing was funny about allergies. Yet the absurdity of it all was kind of so Pippa had to smile at that, even though she didn't understand how someone couldn't like what was cute. Or dislike an animal period though Pippa could understand being afraid of one that was dangerous. Maybe it was a boy thing. Boys were almost like a foreign creature to her. Pippa hadn't known any near her age before coming to Sonora. She snuck a look over at Nathaniel who seemed as thrilled with the puffskiens and pygmy puffs as Pippa was, so maybe she was wrong about it being a guy thing. Maybe it was just Daniel that didn't like cute things.

"I'm Pippa," she replied. "Pleased to meet you, Daniel." She looked down at her own puffskien, who was on the smaller side, and a dirty shade of yellow. "I...haven't named mine yet." Pippa wanted to think of just the right name for the adorable little critter.

11 Pippa My guess is that it would be one totally foreign to me 132 Pippa 0 5

Adelita

January 10, 2009 11:37 PM

Sarcasm or fact, either one is good. by Adelita

Adelita watched the boy go after the pygmy puff again. The corners of her mouth turned even more downwards at his comment. He didn’t seem to have all that good of an opinion for the little creatures. She found absolutely nothing wrong with them. Every creature had its use and even though these puffs were small and didn’t do much other than enjoy being bounced around, didn’t mean they deserve to be thought any less of. Even Adelita, who hated bugs or any sort of creepy crawlies, could appreciate why they existed in the world.

Shrugging off his words, Adelita returned to her own pygmy puff, rolling it around in her hands and smiling as it purred. “I need to think of a name for you…” Adelita mumbled. What to name a purple plushy… hm… It would have been more helpful if she knew whether or not it was a boy or a girl, but she didn’t even know if they had organs to differentiate between them. Unable to think of a name (she seemed to only be creative in dance), Adelita settled with calling him Poco Un. Or, Little One in Spanish (sounded better in her second language).

Happy now that she now could call the pygmy puff something, Adelita was surprised to find the pink one back in her lap as though it were magnetized to her. She went to try throwing it again, but stopped when the boy held up his hand. Her frown returned quickly at his comment. She could have sworn he had just insulted her. Although he corrected himself, Adelita still felt that he meant some of it towards herself as well. Glancing down at the pink pygmy puff, Adelita whispered to it, “I would run away from him too. He seems very irritated. Not fun at all.” She whispered all this in absolute seriousness to the creature before returning her gaze on the boy as he made his way back over.

“I’m Adelita.” She smiled at him in her usual way. Normally she would give her nickname, but after talking to Nathaniel and Daniel, Adelita was under the impression that boys didn’t like nicknames. “I’m a first year in Crotalus.” She wasn’t exactly sure why having to explain her year or house to someone other than perhaps they had to decide if she were an enemy or not, but she was learning the habit of introducing herself that way. She wondered if she would do that while at home by default.

“Here you are, Ian.” Lita offered him his pygmy puff back if he so chose to take him. She didn’t mind holding on to the creature for him if he wanted though. “Are you not a fan of animals?” Lita asked him. She got the impression he wasn’t all that fond of the lesson, but she wasn’t sure if that extended to the class in general. Changing topics almost as quickly as she had asked the first question, Adelita continued, “Aladren, right? Professor Flatt scares me. I don’t know how it is with him as your Head of House.” She probably should have mentioned that Professor O’Leary scared her too and made her not envy the Pecaris either, but she felt she had shared enough for the time being.

0 Adelita Sarcasm or fact, either one is good. 0 Adelita 0 5

Quentin Melcher

January 14, 2009 6:46 AM

I do that often, apparently. by Quentin Melcher

As the Care of Magical Creatures lesson began, Quentin couldn't help feel a bit disappointed. Sure, he liked the animals fine, but he'd been hoping for a lesson that was a bit more... educational , as their other lessons had been. Today it seemed more like they would be "playing" with the puffskiens and pygmy puffs. Quentin had been taught since he was very young that lessons were not a time to play, they were a time to learn. He'd much rather be learning about the biology of these little creatures or their domestication or anything than throwing them back and forth as in a frivolous sport.

He walked up to the bin and pulled out a puffskien because Quentin was not about to take something that was pink or purple. He might not have been the most macho of guys but he was still a guy, after all. He put the creature in the pocket of his robes and walked a bit away from the box. Quentin pulled it out and surveyed it. It was a bright yellow and perfectly spherical...it was actually "well-rounded"! Puffskiens could be so, people could not.

He put it down on the ground and pulled out paper and a quill. Quentin was going to study the puffskien and its behavior in various settings. That was educational and much better than tossing it back and forth like a ball of some kind. Though perhaps Quentin should record its reaction to that as well.

Suddenly, he felt someone grab on to him and looked up at the person. "Oh, that's interesting." Quentin scribbled it down in his notes. "Can you tell me more about the experience? Are you talking about your puffskien or pygmy puff? If so,what is it doing that made it tickle? Also, how do you know that yours is a he if that's what you're talking about?" He inquired. "Hey, would you put yours down by mine so I can see how they interact with each other? Which did you get?"

11 Quentin Melcher I do that often, apparently. 129 Quentin Melcher 0 5

Nathaniel

January 15, 2009 8:58 AM

And I'm not alone! by Nathaniel

Nathaniel blushed furiously when the pygmy popped out by his neck, breathing heavy because he had been laughing. He smiled at the other boy, not in his house but in his year he knew, and was embarrassed that he had run into the boy. So many people disliked being touched (why? Nathaniel wondered, he loved knowing someone was always there, why not?), however he was pleasantly surprised that this boy did not yank away from him in disgust but instead looked interested in the long-haired male and his pink pygmy (he liked pink, why not? The consistent question, why not?).

“Interesting, its more funny to me. I suppose interesting too,” he beamed, squirming when the pygmy dove back into his robes. The lanky boy twisted and laughed again. “It’s just m-moving around my shirt. The fuzz tickles,” he giggled, “Like you know, if a feather brushed up against you all gentle and stuff,” Nathaniel nodded wide eyed at first, but scrunching his face in laughter when the pygmy moved around again. “I think he—it,” Nathaniel had been so trying to not give it a name he forgot that he didn’t know the gender either, and couldn’t call it by that. “I think this pygmy puff here found some crumbs in my pocket from breakfast.”

Nathaniel wasn’t a very well groomed boy. He never thought about grooming, shower and brush his hair, if it stuck out in all directions that was okay. He stuffed food in his pockets for later (knowing it wasn’t stealing if the food was his to begin with, so he never hid it). He wore clothes stained with paint and other colors. He wasn’t one to care for appearances very much, and it seemed like the food in his pockets, the tickle of his long hair, the smell of paint on him had all attracted “this pygmy puff here”.

“You got the puffskien?” he asked, pulling out his tiny puff, it squirmed, eager to find the warmth in the boy holding it, and Nathaniel feeling bad let it tickle him again. He spoke through laughter. “I just ran up and got the most colorful one,” he commented, “But now everyone else has pygmy puffs and all those poor puffskiens are lonely and I feel bad. I wonder if it would be bad to have two, just so they aren’t all so sad.” He wouldn’t put that pygmy puff back after he’s already promised it a place to stay, but he was feeling very bad for all the left over puffskiens.

But the boy asked to put the creatures down next to each other, “see how they react”, so Nathaniel had to fish down his shirt. Not far though, the pygmy puff had jumped to his hand right away much to the boy’s delight. And Nathaniel set the creature down crouching and waving Quentin down with him. “Are you some sort of scientist?” he asked. His mother wasn’t a fan of scientists, but he didn’t understand why. Why not? and in return, Have a brownie, Nathaniel.

0 Nathaniel And I'm not alone! 0 Nathaniel 0 5

Ian

January 15, 2009 12:40 PM

I can accept that. by Ian

Ian made a quick mental note to add a new page to his ever growing collection of notebooks. His summer had been spent in preoccupied pursuit of comparing his personal notes on his fellow classmates and upper classmen with those on their respective families kept in the Grimm Inquiries' File Room. As such, his two notebooks had grown into thirteen, each page filled with his precise handwriting and much practised shorthand. The new first years had warranted a fourteenth notebook to be added.

If he recalled correctly- and most times he did- Adelita's surname was Garcia.

"Crotalus. . . the females in there can be-" Troublesome, annoying, entertaining were a few of the immediate adjectives he thought of when considering Crotalus. This was mostly since his impressions came from his experiences with one certain female fellow second year. "- quarrelsome. Some Purebloods are peculiar that way."

He held out his hand toward the pygmy puff, not particularly expecting it to bounce forward. Surprisingly enough, it did just that, and with a loud purring sound, settled into his lap, the very essence of contentedness. His class notes gained another line of observation regarding the creature's preference for lower altitudes. The puff didn't seem to mind him after all. He tried to pretend that this didn't please him in some small way and resolutely refused to move his fingers in response to its snuggling.

"I neither like or dislike them. They serve no real purpose for me and my plans for the future. It seems to be a waste to have one considering, as a pet or otherwise. If I was a farmer or a zoo keeper, it would be different." He spoke plainly enough, having honestly no real feeling toward animals or pets in general. It was a sincere ambivalence.

“Professor Flatt?” Ian’s hand subconsciously began petting the purring fuzz, unbeknownst to himself. “He’s predictable. He gets a thrill from seeing people react, so the less you do, the more he’ll ignore you.” Ian generally found Professor Flatt’s classes to be a waste of precious time, but they did serve as an excellent opportunity to work on his notebooks. The reactions presented from his classmates provided some of the more interesting observations. “Professor Schmidt poses more concerns for me. Not so much him, but the potions he lets us accidentally make.”

He was reminded of his last potions lesson that had resulted in two exploding cauldrons and the ruin of his favorite shoes. He had not been pleased.

0 Ian I can accept that. 0 Ian 0 5

Quentin

January 17, 2009 8:32 AM

Of course not, lots of people are here. by Quentin

Quentin jotted down what the other boy had to say about his pygmy puff tickling him. Tickles when it moves around in your shirt. This was hardly news, given the creature was fuzzy and that was the logical conclusion but still any bit of information was good. "How would you describe the feeling other than 'funny'" Quentin asked. "Like is it similar to anything? And how is it funny? Odd-funny or humorous-funny?"

To Quentin, he didn't really see the humor in being tickled by a pygmy puff like a joke or a humorous sight. He could however, understand there maybe being a physiological reaction from being touched in such a way or somehow getting pleasure from it, but "funny" to Quentin suggested something amusing. "What is it you had for breakfast?" He inquired. This would be informative in that it was perhaps something pygmy puffs liked to eat. "Also, do you have more, in case my puffskien would like some too?" He wanted to see if they would eat the same thing. He would also need another puffskien and pygmy puff over to compare whether or not they all liked to eat the same things or they liked different foods the way people did.

The next thing the Teppenpaw boy said interested Quentin. Could they feel? Did they have emotions? Were they aware of not being chosen by people? Would they prefer to be so or would they prefer to be with their own kind? "Yes, I mean those pygmy puffs only come in pink and purple." Quentin replied. He was somewhat surprised that the other boy had taken a pink one. "I decided to stick with this yellow being here. I don't exactly know what to call it though. I should probably see if it's a boy or girl first."

11 Quentin Of course not, lots of people are here. 129 Quentin 0 5

Professor K.

January 17, 2009 10:47 AM

Lesson closed, but continue posting if you like. (nm) by Professor K.

0 Professor K. Lesson closed, but continue posting if you like. (nm) 0 Professor K. 0 5