Ants are troopers. on Care of Magical Creatures

Sub. Professor Adrian Meade

September 21, 2012 8:02 PM

An Ant Life! [Beginners] by Sub. Professor Adrian Meade

Adrian was preparing for the arrival of the beginners class. He was excited about what the younglings were going to learn today. He had pulled some strings to get a specimen of the animal they were going to study. The sub teacher dimmed the lights of the classroom as he began setting everything for the younglings to arrive. The desks were set around in a circle while a big fishtank was in the middle of the desks filled with sand.

The professor hung some pictures on the walls with explanation of the animal in question and some sentences describing what they did, but the best part of the class were the little fire ants roaming about in their sand kingdom. He smiled at the little insects and sat down on his desk to wait for the students to arrive and while he waited he began grading some of the Advanced children homework.

The bell rang and the students began piling in the classroom. He gave the stranglers a few more minutes before closing the door on them. Adrian was all about punctuality.

“Hello,” he greeted them with a smile, “I am Prof. Adrian Meade the COMC sub until further notice for anyone that didn’t know or forgot!” He was beginning to feel more at ease with the whole teaching thing, but he already missed the adventure of exploring unchartered lands.

“Today we are going to study Fire Ants,” he got up from his desk and stood beside the blackboard where a lot of info was written for them. “There is a muggle kind, but this is quite different. It looks a lot like a muggle ones, but this little fellows don’t have a stinger or inject any kind of venom.”

Adrian began pacing through the classroom, “Physically that is the only difference. So, they aren’t really dangerous.” A grin formed on his face, “Their magical properties lay on the substance they secrete which mixed with sand form little balls of crystal that are key for some swelling potions.”

“These little insects are mainly found in high-temperature climates, especially in deserts where they form their colony. These particular ones were brought here for the Sahara desert,” he said pointing to the large tank in the middle of the classroom. “They aren’t dangerous; in fact, their little feet tickle if they manage to crawl up your hands. They are rather friendly,” he smiled reassuringly to everyone. He would never expose the beginner students to something dangerous.

“Like muggle ants, they form colonies with the queen as their head, and then you have the males and the workers. If you look closely to the colony I brought today you can see the little workers creating passageways to the main chamber where the queen is taking care of the eggs that were inseminated by the males.” By now Adrian was at the front of the classroom leaning on his desk.

“The assignment today is to collect the crystal balls that are at the top of the sand. They move them up because they become obstacles for them. Be careful to not destroy their work! There are buckets at the front of the classroom.” The crystal balls were usually in the topmost part so it was not going to be hard for them. The passageways and chambers were at the bottom of the tank. The tank was large enough to give room to everyone to do what they had to do. "You can work in pairs if you like."

“And your homework will be an essay on the fire ants and the properties of the crystal balls formed by them. If you have any questions just raise your hand! Have a good time,” he said before returning to his previous grading.

OOC: posting rules apply! Have fun! The ants are not dangerous, so no accidents or bites or any gruesome consequences of playing with them.

Subthreads:

Ants are troopers. by Rupert Princeton, Pecari with Clara Abernathy, Pecari, Clarissa Clark, Rupert

A whole world normally under our feet by Effie Arbon with Amity Brockert, Aladren

Fire Ants?...Seriously? by Carter Browning, Teppenpaw with McKinley Andrews, Crotalus

Where are the unicorns? by Wendy Canterbury - Pecari with Aria Yale, Teppenpaw, Wendy, Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus

An ant's life, hm... interesting... by Abigail Thornton, Crotalus

Ugh, bugs, by Melanie Lennox, Teppenpaw

Is one not worthy. by Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus

0 Sub. Professor Adrian Meade An Ant Life! [Beginners] 0 Sub. Professor Adrian Meade 1 5

Rupert Princeton, Pecari

September 22, 2012 1:29 PM

Ants are troopers. by Rupert Princeton, Pecari

Though Rupert wasn't very keen on his classes so far except for Charms, he had to admit he was looking forward to COMC. He enjoyed playing with animals. The grounds of his manor were full of different kinds of creatures, and all of his family members that lived there had their own personal pet. Rupert had brought his with him. Father had given him the small almond-coloured owl his older brother had adamantly disliked. The owl had had a bit of trouble changing its loyalties, but after Rup had named it, the bird had come to like him. Rupert adored it. It was the only pet that he actually considered his.

Now, however, Ozzy was out doing his thing while Rupert was approaching his COMC classroom. He sincerely hoped they were going to study something actually interesting. One thing he really enjoyed about classes here at Sonora was that they got to interact more. Back with his tutors, he had sat in "classrooms" and listened to tutors rattle on and on about something. Rupert had gotten really good at tuning them out.

He was a bit late to class, but he sat down quickly in the back to try and go unnoticed. The professor closed the door right after him, and Rupert ruffled his blonde hair, glad that he'd made it relatively on time.

The professor began talking, and Rup listened eagerly to see what they were going to learn about today. But Fire Ants? He slumped in his seat, disappointed. Insects were such boring creatures. He wanted to study something interesting, something big. He wasn't sure what the difference between muggle fire ants were and magical ones. There was only one type of fire ant species that he knew and that was the one they were going to be studying. Bor-ing.

Despite that, Rupert decided that not participating would most likely gain him a Howler from home. He begrudgingly stood when they were to begin, and grabbed a bucket from the front. The ants were actually a little interesting as he looked at the chambers through the glass tank. He crouched down to see them better and spent longer than necessary just staring at the tiny ants as they worked tirelessly, going to and fro in the sand. Why would the ants decide to go underground? And how did they take the sand out?

It almost put Rupert in a trance of sorts as he stared at this tiny creatures, lost in his own thoughts. He certainly wouldn't want them crawling all over him, but he did enjoy watching them. He enjoyed it much more than he had anticipated. There was a tap on his shoulder then, and Rupert looked up. "Hi, sorry," he said, and stood. "Am I in your way?"

0 Rupert Princeton, Pecari Ants are troopers. 0 Rupert Princeton, Pecari 0 5

Clara Abernathy, Pecari

September 22, 2012 5:33 PM

They're also builders...I think. by Clara Abernathy, Pecari

Clara had made it to the COMC class with plenty of time to spare after her Transfig lesson. "Hopefully this is easier than last time," she said to herself as she found a seat and waved hello to the professor. She had enjoyed her last COMC class despite the fact that it had involved creatures with really long claws and sharp teeth. That part the little redhead could definately have done without. Still she had managed to interact with the creature without any injuries to herself or her partner. She smiled to herself about that part. She listened as the Professor told them about the ants in the tank in front of them. Fire Ants? Was this guy serious? Didn't he know those things were dangerous? She listened a little closer to his lecture and realized that these apparently were not the Muggle version of Fire Ants which were dangerous, but magical ones which apparently were not. She was intrigued in a way to see if that were true.

She walked up to the front of the room for her bucket and found herself glancing at the ants from where she stood. Insects had never really been a favorite of hers, but she tried to keep that factor to herself. She found herself so grossly facinated by the little guys that she almost stepped on the boy crouched down in front of the tank. She tapped him on the shoulder and was about to apologize when he apologized first. "Hi, sorry," he said, and stood. "Am I in your way?" Clara smiled slighly at the boy and shook her head. "Not at all," she assured him politely. "Its me that should apologize. I wasn't watching where I was going and nearly stepped on you. I'm terribly sorry about that." She flashed him her friendliest smile and held out her hand. "I'm Clara Abernathy, by the way. Pleasure to meet you."

While Clara waited to see if the boy would shake her hand or not she continued, glancing towards the ants. "You don't suppose those things actually tickle if they walk on you, do you?" she asked him, sounding quite girlish even to her.

0 Clara Abernathy, Pecari They're also builders...I think. 232 Clara Abernathy, Pecari 0 5

Clarissa Clark

September 23, 2012 7:59 AM

And are we helping them or just interfering? by Clarissa Clark

After the success of her first ever flying lesson, Clarissa was more exited if not less apprehensive about her first ever class in the Care of Magical Creatures. She really wasn’t sure what this entailed, and as she hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask any of her room mates about it, attempted to prepare for a number of possibilities.

Again she wore what her Dad would call ‘sensible clothing’ – jeans and a t shirt underneath a purple hooded top. Her hair was in a bun at the back of her neck this time, mainly in case of imminent danger. Magic just seemed so dangerous! But at least you could use it to erm glue yourself back together…she hoped. Another reason that was that no one had yet commented on her mismatching eyes and she was beginning to forget about them being an issue. People here seemed far too caught up in their own lives to become bored and feel the need to intrude into hers. She had heard the phrase “not like us” being whispered a few too many times, usually in the presence of Amity and other girls of her type, but they hadn’t bothered her. They didn’t seem interested, which was quite a relief.

Clarissa was worried however about how interested these magical creatures might be in her. So much so that she had barely considered her interest in them. One possibility that had occurred to her was that the class would teach her to care for her own creature Ruby. However, although she admittedly looked a bit strange, Ruby could hardly be described as being magical. Perhaps they were considered magical because they belonged to a witch or wizard or perhaps, she had thought, the pets permitted at Sonora were special in some way. Did cats, owls, toads and rats have some quality that differentiated them from other species? She had always assumed that these were just traditional companions. When they had arrived at Sonora Clarissa had had a good long look at Ruby to see if she was in fact magical. She didn’t know how to check of course, but she couldn’t see any signs. The irony that she was magical and hadn’t really noticed for eleven years had evaded her.

Clarissa had brought Ruby along in her bag with plenty of snacks to keep her occupied, just in case. It was bigger creatures that she had tied her hair up for…she imagined dragons, and a variety of other animals, but she always imagined them BIG. Big and scary. Of course first year students probably weren’t allowed to be near anything really dangerous, but she had no idea what things there might be, and controlling them – sorry – caring for them must be an important part of wizarding life if there was a whole class devoted to it.

Clarissa arrived at the class early to try and get a better idea about these magical creatures. She saw a glass tank, and the other students didn’t seem overly excited, which made her feel much safer, but a little disappointed, oddly. The professor seemed kind and as he explained about the ants Clarissa felt very reassured. Even though the thought of ants crawling on her skin made her shiver. Even though he had used the word FIRE. Apparently these ants were less dangerous than the muggle kind – Clarissa was slightly confused by the notion of there being two kinds of the species and wondered whether the magic ants operated secretly, unnoticed by the muggle ants.

As she approached the tank, Clarissa couldn’t help but think that this would never have been allowed in her school in London. Surely some children would have started to eat the ants, dangerous or not. Or, they might have liberated the ants, finding new habitats for them in the hair and clothing of their classmates. Chaos would certainly have reined!

Clarissa’s attention was caught by a blonde haired boy near her nearly being stumbled on. It was by the same red haired girl she had seen having trouble on the Quidditch Pitch, who didn’t seem to mind the possibility of hurting herself quite so much as Clarissa did. Perhaps she ought to follow her example, and relax. But overhearing their conversation, Clarissa was amused to learn that she feared the tickling of the ants too. The boy and girl both had buckets. Interesting.

“Erm, hi” Clarissa said, approaching the pair cautiously. “I’m afraid of them tickling me too. Or getting into my hair!” She paused, and thought about how best to phrase her enquiry. “Er..I got a bit distracted. I tend to drift off when I should be paying attention. Er…what exactly are we meant to be doing?”

0 Clarissa Clark And are we helping them or just interfering? 1486 Clarissa Clark 0 5

Effie Arbon

September 23, 2012 1:20 PM

A whole world normally under our feet by Effie Arbon

Effie's interest was piqued by the idea of Care of Magical Creatures. She could not see herself owning a great menagerie of animals or, if she did, she would not be the one to provide most of their care. She was certainly not going to become a veterinarian or any such thing. The subject was likely to be of limited use to her. But it was of interest. She liked nature for its beauty and for the fact that it was wild and free, although she did not understand that this was what appealed to her about it and, had she done, she might have re-evaluated her thoughts, or questioned her own temperament. There was the possibility that she would not find it so fascinating when bottled up and labelled in a classroom, as that would kill some of the spontaneity. However, knowing how she and elements of the natural world could avoid mutual damage when she went out for a walk would be useful to her personally, even if it was not a useful in terms of the skill set of A Young Lady of Accomplishment.

Thus, she approached the class with interest. The classroom was laid out in an unusual style but it seemed useful for everyone to be able to see. She could dimly make out ants moving through their tunnels from where she sat, and she listened with interest as the Professor explained their organisation and their uses. The assignment for the class seemed fairly simple. Almost deceptively so. Picking little balls of crystal out of a tank for an hour seemed neither challenging nor stimulating. He had cautioned them not to destroy the ants' work, so there presumably had to be some technique to gathering the harvest. Keen neither to make a fool of herself nor to damage the carefully constructed formicarium, she consulted her text book before beginning.

'Fire ant crystal is a resilient substance and is easy to harvest providing certain steps are followed. It is advisable to wait until the crystals have been transported to the surface in order to avoid undue disturbance to the colony. Disruption and destruction of their tunnels will result in a halt in production of crystal and so is detrimental in the longrun to production. Whilst a very hard substance, it is highly soluble and thus the moisture in a wizard or witch's hand may degrade the crystal. To this end, several common harvesting methods are used:

1). Wingardium Leviosa: the experienced practitioner who has a fine degree of control with this charm may levitate the crystals away from the nest. This is not appropriate for those without a good deal of practise in this charm, as the inexperienced witch or wizard may cause large clods of earth to fly from the nest.

2). Use of tools, e.g. tweezers or a small spoon, to liberate the eggs without touching them

3). Wearing of gloves to prevent direct skin contact. Fine gloves are a necessity in order to have a high enough degree of dexterity.

Effie had had some practice of the levitating charm before coming to school but she was not confident she could apply it successfully to such a small object. The thought of sending clods of earth flying about the classroom did not sound particularly dignified and was not something she wished to cause. Her gloves, although they were tough dragon hide, were well fitted to her hands, in the manner of evening gloves, although with a slight gauntlet which flared where the gloves reached her wrists. She skimmed over the uses of swelling solutions, out of curiosity.

Swelling solutions are mostly used in combative situations. They cause a reaction on contact and thus have advantages over many potions in that the enemy does not need to be tricked into imbibing them. Witches haves been known to carry small spray vials of the solutions to use in self-defence, especially those who are under-age or live in densely Muggle populated areas and would thus be unable to use their wands. Highly dilute versions of the solution are used in some beauty products, for example those which give a fuller lip.

Effie pouted her own lip experimentally, trying to imagine it larger. Apart from her eyes, which were as wide as saucers even when she was not particularly surprised, her features were small and delicate. She supposed that if fashion called for it, she might be tempted to use such a product.

Pulling her gloves on, she collected a bucket and approached the tank. She avoided Mr. Princeton as he seemed rather engrossed. Had they approached together, the principle of “ladies first” might have applied but now that he was already stationed there, she had no right to disrupt him. He was a boy, and had inherently more right to maintain his viewing spot than she had to demand it. She edged around the tank a little further. Whilst she had sat down with those of her ilk, they were now somewhat more dispersed, and it did not seem like it would be possible to stick entirely to her own. She established herself near to some faces she recognised but also several that she did not.

She tentatively took a ball of crystal. It was difficult, not being able to feel it against her skin. She relied on the sense of pressure to know she was gripping it. The text book had said that they were relatively robust and so she took it firmly, transferring it successfully to her bucket. She paused to see whether there would be a reaction from the ants, not taking the next less they had noticed the first being taken and swarmed to the surface. If they did so and the lack of crystal would cause them distress, she imagined the book would have mentioned it. Perhaps it was a waste product to them and they were happy to be rid of it. She allowed the people around her to continue to collect the resin on their side of the tank for a moment, whilst she observed the ants, attempting to observe one in the act of making or at least rolling the crystal to the surface, until she was drawn from her inspections by a voice at her shoulder.

13 Effie Arbon A whole world normally under our feet 238 Effie Arbon 0 5

Rupert

September 24, 2012 11:02 AM

They're really the ones helping us. by Rupert

It was a relief that he wasn’t being scolded for being in someone’s way. Instead, she was apologising to him. It was strange being apologised to especially since she hadn’t done anything wrong in his mind. Rupert took the apology graciously, however, along with her hand. “I think I would have been quite dashing flat, don’t you think?” He smiled. “Pleased to meet you Clara. I’m Rupert Princeton.” It was another thing to not have to introduce his name along with his origin. He might as well just hand a copy of the Princeton genealogy to every new person he met. That would at least save his breath.

Clara followed her introduction with a silly question, and Rupert was wondering how to respond to it when another girl approached. Both girls were rather silly in their thinking, but Rupert didn’t have too much experience with the opposite sex and their brains. All of his tutors had been male, except for perhaps his French and English teachers, but that was beside the point. The point was that there were two girls here with silly thoughts and Rupert wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate to laugh at them or not.

Instead, he just smirked, trying to keep himself from making a strange, amused facial expression at their silliness. “I’m pretty certain ants won’t do their best to get into your hair. And I’m sure they’d tickle, but just…don’t let them crawl on you, I guess.” He shrugged, deciding to answer the other girl’s question. “Don’t worry about it. I do that all the time, except for now.” He changed his expression to be solemn and serious. “You have come to the right people for this serious information.” He nodded seriously. “Those ants, you see,” he said, leaning towards the girls and lowering his voice, “are creating something very intricate and delicate in their chambers. So secretive, in fact, that we have to be extra careful not to disturb them or they might attack.” His dark eyes widened. “With tickling.”

He had no idea where these thoughts came from, but his imagination certainly made things loads more entertaining than they actually were. Rup turned to the unfamiliar girl first. “But before we begin this mission, we’d better get acquainted. I’m Rupert Princeton, but you can call me 'Rup'.” He stuck out his hand for a quick shake before turning to the tank. “All right, ladies. I’ll try and be brave and go first. These ants can act quickly, you know.”

Rup took a giant step towards the tank, putting him right at the edge. He could still see the tiny ants moving to and fro down in the chambers, but their crystals were lying on the top, easy to pick up. For dramatics sake, however, Rupert couldn’t let it be that easy. He reached down slowly as if he were picking up a motion-sensitive bomb, slow enough that his fingers got into the way of an ant and it crawled onto his pinky. Rupert took the crystal and carefully dropped it into his bucket before lifting up his hand and showing the girls. “It’s got me!” he gasped, and put his bucket down to clasp his chest. “Help! It…tickles!” He put the ant back into the tank, allowing it to crawl back onto the sand, and then swiped a hand across his forehead.

If he had ever tried these dramatics at home, his father would have scolded him immediately. Mum could be slightly more playful, but she was serious too. There was a reason why his parents had a mutual respect for each other, and perhaps that was it. Neither one could be playful for a good period of time. For years, Rupert had been left on his own devices, and he was great at telling his younger brother stories. Cepheus had told him loads of stories too, except they were more lies than stories that he tried to convince Rup were true. Rupert knew better now, but for the longest time he had thought that Saint Nicholas was the man who made it snow, except not in London because he hated the city. Rup had tried not to be so convincing with his own stories, but he wasn’t convinced himself that Leo didn’t believe all the things he said.

In the present, however, taking on these life-size stories was just too much fun and there was no one to yell at him for it. It made classes pass by so much faster. “Merlin, that’s not easy work,” said Rup then, and shook his head. Then he dropped the bit and smiled at the two girls. “Who wants to go next?”

0 Rupert They're really the ones helping us. 0 Rupert 0 5

Carter Browning, Teppenpaw

September 25, 2012 6:44 PM

Fire Ants?...Seriously? by Carter Browning, Teppenpaw

Carter found the COMC class with little difficulty and was rather proud of himself for that fact. He had only been here at Sonora for a short time and had already managed to navigate his way around the fairly large grounds. The only places he had yet to explore was the library, the extra classrooms and the gardens. He figured he probably had plenty of time to go exploring later. He walked slightly faster so as not to be late for class. He really didn’t want to have to try and explain tardiness. He found his way to a seat once he was inside the room and put his bag down. He glanced around the walls at all of the bug pictures and laughed slightly to himself as he thought about how Kinley would react to the sight of them. She was never really one for liking bugs and these up on the walls all around the room would scare the tar out of her. He could only imagine the tantrum that would ensue when she saw them. He chuckled to himself as he politely nodded towards the teacher before sitting down.

He glanced curiously at the glass tank in front of them all and frowned slightly. Ants? he thought to himself mildly disappointed. We’re playing with goofy old ants? How could this possibly be exciting? He crossed his arms lazily over his chest and continued to watch the tank now slightly disinterested what the professor had to say. He raised a brow slightly when the professor said they were fire ants. He shrugged lightly. He was pretty certain that fire ants were actually dangerous if provoked or messed with. He found himself listening a little closer when the professor informed them that these were not the muggle kind of fire ants, but the magical kind that actually weren’t dangerous at all. If they’re not dangerous than why are we messing with them? he couldn’t help wondering to himself. He listened halfheartedly to the assignment at hand and again he shrugged. If all they had to do was collect the little crystal things this should be a bigger piece of cake than he thought, especially if all the ants were going to do to you was tickle you to death.

He got up off the chair and walked up to the front of the room for one of the buckets. He walked slowly back towards the tank and found himself staring at the ants moving around inside. They really were rather fascinating little things weren’t they? He found that he couldn’t make himself look away from their movements. He reached slowly down into the tank and reached for a couple of the crystals. He brushed one of the ants as it crawled around in the sand near his fingers and smiled slightly when it crawled up onto the back of his hand. He slowly raised his hand out of the tank and turned his hand lightly to get a better look at the little creature. “These things are actually pretty cool,” he heard himself say as he studied it crawling around from the back of his hand to his palm and then across his fingertips. He smiled fully now as he imagined Kinley having to stick her hand inside the tank and possibly being touched by one of these ants. She would freak! He laughed silently at the idea. He stuck his hand slowly back into the tank and set the ant down gently before grabbing a couple more crystals and dropping them into his bucket. He took the bucket back with him to his seat and placed it down next to him. For our first creature, I guess this could have been weirder than ants he told himself, waiting for the rest of his classmates to take their turn with the ants. I wonder what we’ll play with next? the Teppenpaw couldn’t help wondering to himself.

0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw Fire Ants?...Seriously? 0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw 0 5

Clara Abernathy

September 25, 2012 7:41 PM

They are?...SWEET! by Clara Abernathy

Clara giggled slightly at Rupert’s comment. She found herself agreeing that he would have indeed looked a bit dashing slightly flat if she had stumbled on him. She was a little surprised that she had that thought float through her mind as she shook his hand. “I would have to say that I have to agree, Rupert. You would have looked rather dashing flat,” she smiled back at him. She glanced towards the other girl who had joined them and flashed her a friendly smile. Clara grimaced slightly at the idea of the ants possibly crawling through her hair, but she found herself eagerly nodding at Rupert’s suggestion that they try not to let them crawl on them so as to prevent just that issue. She really didn’t mind the tickling part especially when Rupert told them that was how the ants might attack them. She found herself covering her mouth to stifle any giggles that might have escaped when he teased them. She was horribly unsuccessful and hoped that he didn’t take offense.

Between trying to stifle giggles and watching Rupert make his way first toward the tickly ants, she introduced herself to the other girl. “Hi,” she half giggled as she caught sight of Rupert dramatically sticking his hand in with the ants. “I’m Clara Abernathy. I’m kinda hoping they don’t get into my hair either.” She wrinkled her nose at the idea. She caught herself mid-laugh when Rupert pulled his hand out of the tank producing the fire ant on his pinky and gasping “It’s got me! “Help! It…tickles!” He put the ant back into the tank, allowing it to crawl back onto the sand, and then swiped a hand across his forehead. Clara couldn’t stop herself from laughing at that point. At that moment he reminded her very muchly of her cousin Brielle with the hand swipe across the forehead move. “I’m sorry I don’t mean to be rude,” she giggled, trying to make her expression serious. She failed miserably at the serious face thing. She had never had this much fun during a class and wondered what Rupert was going to do next.

She glanced at him curiously when he asked which one of them wanted to go next and decided she wouldn’t mind giving it a try. If he could take the tickle attacks then so could she. “If you don’t mind too terribly, I’d like to go next,” she told the both of them, looking from Rupert to the other girl with them. She made her way closer to the tank and let out a nervous breath she had been holding. “They’re just ants…they’re just ants…they’re just ants,” she repeated to herself as she bravely stuck her hand into the tank. As she reached for one of the crystals one of the ants appeared on top of it moving steadily towards her outstretched fingers. She cringed slightly when its tiny feet crawled onto her fingertips and began moving slowly up her hand. She giggled as the ant crawled around on her hand. She lifted her hand slowly out of the tank and showed the ant to the other girl standing by Rupert. She smiled brightly at the pair. “It appears to have gotten me too,” she gasped, trying to look like she wasn’t enjoying herself. “It does tickle,” she commented trying not to giggle. “You should try holding one,” she suggested to the other girl. ‘They’re actually pretty neat! They’re way easier to deal with than the Clabberts we had last year,” she told them both, placing her hand back into the tank so the ant could climb off her fingers.

She pulled a couple of the crystals out of the tank and dropped them gently into her bucket. She turned back to both of them and held up her fingers. “Does my hand look okay? It didn’t tickle me up too bad, did it?” she asked them both teasingly. “I even managed to keep it out of my hair,” she beamed at the other girl. “Are you ready to give it a try? I promise they won‘t tickle torture you too much” she gave the other girl what she hoped was her most encouraging smile.

0 Clara Abernathy They are?...SWEET! 232 Clara Abernathy 0 5

Clarissa Clark

September 26, 2012 3:36 PM

They are quite sweet actually. For things with shells. by Clarissa Clark

Clarissa smiled too. These people seemed nice, like Wendy, and they amused her a lot! She couldn’t place Clara’s accent but could tell that Rupert was British. His voice confirmed it, but her first hint had been that he had apologised to Clara, someone about to walk into him. It made her feel strangely at home.

She thought there were so many things that you didn’t realise about your own culture that were actually quite odd when observed from outside. Clarissa had always thought herself quite observant, but perhaps she was better at looking in than looking out and around. As a lifelong witch or wizard, she mused, it must be strange to hear about ‘muggles’, and meet them too.

Rupert and Clara had helped Clarissa and were now inviting her to work with them. She thought that was great. Unless they decided to put ants in her hair – she had suggested it after all – or her clothes. Clarissa decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. She did pull off her hooded top though, just in case. It really was boiling hot at Sonora, and she nolonger feared the emergence of large claws or any other painful parts of creatures.

Clarissa cautiously took Clara’s bucket in her left hand and reached her right into the constructed ant habitat. She took a crystal and pinched it carefully to see how fragile it was. Then she put it down, took a few more, and slowly moved them over into the bucket. Now that she had done it once, she found that she quite enjoyed it, and had become more curious about the ants. She placed her right index finger next to some of the creatures and watched as they crawled up. Raising her hand to inspect them, she found that they weren’t quite as red as the post boxes in the UK, but certainly red enough. Brightly coloured insects were definitely more interesting to Clarissa, if perhaps more dangerous.

The ants scampered higher up the nervous Aladren’s arm, and she involuntarily flinched. One ant dropped off and could be seen languishing on the floor, if not seen well from that height. Clarissa hurriedly brushed the remaining ants back into the class cage where they fell to safety on the sand, but did not touch the one on the floor which was not moving. She looked frantically from Clara to Rupert and back again for good measure. Had she taken a tiny life? “Shall I pick it up? Do you think it’s dead? Someone might stand on it! What if I’ve killed it?” she gasped.

0 Clarissa Clark They are quite sweet actually. For things with shells. 1486 Clarissa Clark 0 5

McKinley Andrews, Crotalus

September 26, 2012 6:54 PM

That's my question too... by McKinley Andrews, Crotalus

McKinley Andrews was very displeased about having to attend a few of the classes where there was potential for dirt and anything icky. Care of Magical Creatures was one of them. Magical creatures were dirty, and dirty was completely unacceptable to her. This class was sure to be dirty and she knew it. On top of her skirt and top she put on a clear plastic poncho and grabbed some gloves to put on for this one. There was something about having to possibly TOUCH dirty in order to pass this class that wasn’t okay for the eleven year old either.

The bell rang to start class, and she walked into the room dressed as she was, not caring who made fun of her. Dirt would not get on her, no sir-ee. She sat down next to Carter, fully expecting him to make fun of her. “I know you want to.” she said to him as Professor Meade introduced himself to them as their substitute. She looked at him and then passed him to see the posters on the wall. Eeew… Icky… eeew… she thought.

“Today we are going to study Fire Ants,” Professor Meade said as he got up from his desk and stood beside the blackboard where a lot of info was written. “There is a muggle kind, but this is quite different. It looks a lot like a muggle ones, but this little fellows don’t have a stinger or inject any kind of venom.” Kinley’s eyes widened to larger than dinner plates.

Ants…? Fire ants no less…? she thought as their teacher paced the room, going on about the difference between Muggle kind and Magical ones. “Friendly?” she whispered to Carter, incredulously. “How can they be friendly?”

“The assignment today is to collect the crystal balls that are at the top of the sand. They move them up because they become obstacles for them. Be careful to not destroy their work! There are buckets at the front of the classroom. You can work in pairs if you like. And your homework will be an essay on the fire ants and the properties of the crystal balls formed by them. If you have any questions just raise your hand! Have a good time,”

I have to collect something that’s dirty from the dirty insects and be okay with this? And I have to have a good time doing it? Is he NUTS? she thought to herself as he went back to his desk. Carter got up and walked to the front of the room for a bucket and she followed him closely, being alone in this class was not an option in her mind, definitely not an option. Kinley followed him to the tanks and hid behind her cousin. Carter looked actually entranced in the creepy little creatures and Kinley would let him, if that kept her from having to touch them, or even look at them.

“These things are actually pretty cool,” Carter said. Kinley looked at her cousin like his head was on backwards and stayed behind him. He probably didn’t even know that she was there… He walked back towards their desk and she followed behind him again, hoping that the professor had thought she’d added to his bucket so she didn’t have to touch anything icky.

0 McKinley Andrews, Crotalus That's my question too... 0 McKinley Andrews, Crotalus 0 5

Carter Browning, Teppenpaw

September 26, 2012 9:15 PM

Plastic Kinley? Really? by Carter Browning, Teppenpaw

Carter watched Kinley walk to the seat next to his in COMC class and had to do a double-take. She had actually walked into class wearing plastic and gloves. He found himself staring towards her completely stunned, his mouth hanging open slightly. He had to fight to compose himself. When she looked at him and told him “I know you want to.” She was absolutely right. He really did want to make fun of her right at this moment for her ridiculous getup. He found himself slapping his hand over his face and shaking his head, his body shaking lightly from his contained laughter. The professor introduced himself and Carter tried listening to his words and not glancing at his cousin. Looking towards her made him want to laugh all over again. He wasn’t sure how to respond to her question about how the ants could be friendly. He leaned over towards her and whispered back, “Most ants aren’t dangerous Kinley. They just feel funny if they touch your skin. Very few of them actually bite.”

He tried to ignore her outfit by walking up towards the front of the class and picking up his bucket. He then went over towards the ant tank and glanced inside. He found himself fascinated by the little creatures crawling around inside. He looked a little closer at the glass of the tank and saw what looked like Kinley in its reflection. She had followed him to the front of the room to the tank and was now trying to hide behind him. He grinned at the idea that she thought he wouldn’t see her behind him let alone hear the plastic she wore wrinkle as she moved. He merely shook his head and let her believe that he didn’t notice her behind him. He reached into the tank, pulled out his crystals and headed back to his seat after putting them into his bucket. If Kinley wanted to hide behind him there wasn’t much he could do to stop her. He shook his head as he walked back to his seat. This was going to be a long class.

0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw Plastic Kinley? Really? 0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw 0 5

Rupert

September 28, 2012 10:43 AM

Shells...? by Rupert

Rupert was delighted with his company. They were fun so far and he enjoyed playing around with them. He very nearly beamed with delight when Clara seemed unable to keep her giggles in. He took pride in making people laugh. He did it all the time with his brothers when Mum and Dad weren’t around. Cepheus tried not to laugh, but Rup knew that his older brother thought he was hilarious sometimes. Not all the time, of course, since teenagers obviously weren’t supposed to think their younger siblings were cool enough to acknowledge.

Clara was giggling about nearly everything, and it made Rupert smile. He was especially glad that they were playing along with him. It was such a nice change from the stuffy household he had been encased in all his life with only his baby brother and the creatures to play with. The house-elves weren’t much fun either, but then again they were just house-elves. His cousins came over sometimes too, but Rupert didn’t like most of them because they were all rather, well, stuck-up. It was a trait in pure-bloods, it seemed, though neither Clara nor Clarissa seemed terribly stuck-up themselves.

Rupert watched Clara go, grinning as she encouraged Clarissa to go on. The ants really didn’t tickle all that much, but he wasn’t ticklish in his fingertips much. It started a thought process of wondering just who was ticklish on their fingertips and if people like that existed, and did that make holding feather quills difficult? Or anything, really?

Rup came back to the present when Clarissa flinched. Her arm was dotted with ants, a sight that made Rupert’s insides feel strange. He didn’t like insects much, though he could stand the ones when them if they were harmlessly flying on their own. Having lived in the country all of his life, he was used to insects. He just wasn’t used to them congregating on his arm and he wasn’t used to the sight either. Clarissa began going mad about some ant that had fallen on the floor. If it had been an actual creature, Rupert would have been horrified, but since it was a mere insect, he didn’t feel much pity for the thing, if any. Was it the size that made the difference?

“Let me inspect it,” said Rup, leaning in and examining it as closely as he could while squatting. He narrowed his dark eyes at the red ant, watching it for any sign of movement. There was none. “It’s dead,” he said, standing up, “but it was hardly your fault. It was the impact that killed it.” He shook his head. “Happens all the time with these creatures. They want to explore, but they go too far. But don’t worry. I’ll keep your name clean.” He winked and put his foot over it. “It’s just an ant, anyway. I’ll bet there are a thousand more in that tank.” He leaned over a little and tapped the glass. The ants didn’t even seem to notice, so he did it again. Nothing changed.

Rupert stood straight again. Since he had a foot over the dead ant, he was almost pressed up against the tank. “Well, now I’m in a position where I can easily grab the crystals.” And he did so, reaching in and plucking them out one-by-one. “Feel free to join if you wish,” he told his partners, gesturing them over. “I don’t mean to take all the room.”

0 Rupert Shells...? 0 Rupert 0 5

Wendy Canterbury - Pecari

September 28, 2012 4:02 PM

Where are the unicorns? by Wendy Canterbury - Pecari

The class Wendy was most excited for was finally here. She bounded over to Care of Magical Creatures class, thoughts running rampant through her head. What were they going to study? Was it going to be cool? Was it going to be a unicorn? Would the professor bring a unicorn to class? It was her dream to see one of these magical creatures up close and she couldn't wait to see just what kind of creature there would be.

She walked into the classroom holding her breath, but she almost stopped in her tracks when she saw the tank. There were ants in it and she stood there for a whole minute, unable to believe it. They were studying ants? Wendy felt her heart sag in her chest.

She walked to a random open seat sulkily, slouching down immediately and not bothering to take off her backpack. Her blonde hair covered her right eye immediately as her chin attempted to touch her chest, but she didn't bother to move it as she usually did. It was the kind of disappointment that she just wanted to hide her eyes from and imagine it going differently.

It didn't, though, and the professor was talking about being the sub and fire ants and something about muggles. The word "muggle" was something Wendy was still getting used to. She remembered Waverly telling her parents that they were muggles. Their dad hadn't taken it very well, so they didn't say it around the house too much. Besides, it wasn't like they were allowed to let other people know that the Canterbury children were, well, different than their neighbors.

Talk of the desert, however, interested Wendy a little more. She didn't know that there were fire ants in the desert. She had learned about them once while she was learning about the rainforest in fourth grade. Fire ants were super dangerous and traveled in huge numbers. These fire ants weren't supposed to be poisonous, though Wendy wans't sure if she could totally trust that. Still, it wasn't like she'd seen a real muggle fire ant close up before.

As soon as the professor told them to go over, she hopped out of her seat, dropping her backpack on the floor, and went over and picked up a bucket. The task didn't seem too hard. It was just picking up crystal thingies. She went over to the tank again and peered in over the edge. The ants were scurrying around as ants do, and Wendy imagined that they were in a military camp making tools for humans. That's pretty much what it was, kind of. She reached in and picked up a crystal, and then it got easier after that. One by one, they went into her bucket, and then she felt bad. She didn't want to take all of the crystals.

Wendy took a few steps back, examining the amount of crystals she had gotten. Her bucket was nearly half-full already. She sat down at a random desk near the tank and sighed heavily, placing her chin in her hand. "I wish we were doing something more interesting," she said to the person closest to her gloomily. "Unicorns would be fun, don't you think?"

0 Wendy Canterbury - Pecari Where are the unicorns? 0 Wendy Canterbury - Pecari 0 5

Aria Yale, Teppenpaw

September 28, 2012 9:37 PM

Probably back in the woods. by Aria Yale, Teppenpaw

Aria rather liked Care of Magical Creatures, but she couldn’t really say that she disliked any of her lessons though. Transfiguration was difficult, but not awful. She would never use her wand against another as Defense Against the Dark Arts would have them doing (she wasn’t sure how she was going to pass that class if the professor was going to have her go against her beliefs, but she’d figure that out when the time came). But Care of Magical Creatures felt more like home to her. Well, until the sub came around anyway. For some reason, he was having the lessons in a classroom instead of outside like they had last year. Hopefully, that would change as the lessons went on.

Aria dropped her bag on the floor and sat quietly as she watched everyone, but especially the professor, with interest. She always loved to watch people, even if she had no real desire to get to know them. Sometimes, a person would spark her interest or something would catch her attention and she’d want to find out more, but for the most part, she was okay with just watching. Not that it helped with her loneliness, of course. She really wanted to find people like her. Those who were different and not different at the same time. Her roommates were like everyone else in a way. They judged without saying anything. They were nice enough though, so Aria forgave them as was taught to her. There were many like them in this school though and that was why Aria was so alone. At least Potions had her working with a couple of boys that didn’t seem to mind her wild blonde curls and strange clothes. They seemed interested in talking to her, which made her interested in them. Maybe there were more like them and she didn’t know it?

Focusing on the lesson, Aria discovered that they were discussing Ants today. She liked to watch the ants back home. She found them absolutely fascinating! They reminded her of her community. They each had a job to fulfill and they did so without complaint. It was how they were created and it was their purpose in life. They were amazing little things.

She grabbed a bucket and found herself a corner to work. Pulling on her gloves so as to not disturb the crystals, Aria began to slowly pick out the wonderful little crystals. This reminded her of collecting the ingredients for potions for her mother. An easy task, but she found pleasure in it. And she loved to watch the ants work. They made such wonderful things.

Having filled quite a bit of her bucket, Aria retreated for a break. Her back was starting to stiffen up anyway from having bent over for so long. Having taken a seat, Aria found herself next to another girl. She saw her in other classes, a first year and a Pecari, she remembered. “Unicorns would be fun.” Aria agreed. “But I do not find this task boring.” She advised the girl. “Ants are amazing things. They work so hard all day long to make sure their colonies survive and their Queen can reproduce without issues. They carry the weight of the world on their small backs and are able to turn dirt into a beautiful world of tunnels just by working together.” Aria was looking wistfully back at the tank as she said all of this. “They are capable of so much more than we give them credit for. They are so very interesting to me.”

0 Aria Yale, Teppenpaw Probably back in the woods. 0 Aria Yale, Teppenpaw 0 5

Clara

September 29, 2012 1:28 PM

Who said anything about shells? by Clara

Clara was delighted that Clarissa had been willing to give putting her hand in the tank a try despite being worried about whether or not they would tickle her or climb in her hair. She watched with delight as she actually let them crawl up her hand. She almost said something about it to her when she was stopped by Clarissa’s small freak out when one of the ants dropped towards the floor. Clara glanced towards where the ant sat on the floor and frowned as Rup went over to inspect it for her. She had seen loads of ants in her life, I mean she does live on a vineyard, but she had never really witnessed one dead before. It was kinda weird to see up close. She had never really been much of a lover of insects, but she didn’t really feel right about seeing one harmed. She had to agree with him though on the death of the ant not being Clarissa’s fault. “He’s right,” she agreed. “It really wasn’t your fault. It did fall from kind-of a high spot. I’m certain you never meant to drop it,” she told her encouragingly.

She was a little surprised to see Rup put his foot over the ant, but she definitely understood why he did it. He didn’t want Clarissa to feel bad about what happened. She liked that he was being considerate of Clarissa’s feelings. She watched him walk over to the ant tank and begin easily plucking the crystals out of it without any trouble. “Feel free to join if you wish,” he told his partners, gesturing them over. “I don’t mean to take all the room.” Clara giggled to herself as he gestured for them to join him. He didn’t look like he could possibly take up all the room if wanted to. The idea of it was just silly to her. “Come on partner,” she said playfully to Clarissa. “Let’s go get some of those crystals before Rup beats us to them,” she told her encouragingly. She half skipped over to the tank and stood next to him. “I really liked the way you made her feel better about the ant,” she told him when she joined him at the tank. “It was really nice of you,” she beamed at him before reaching her hand into the tank near his and began pulling crystals of her own out.

0 Clara Who said anything about shells? 232 Clara 0 5

Abigail Thornton, Crotalus

October 02, 2012 9:38 AM

An ant's life, hm... interesting... by Abigail Thornton, Crotalus

Abigail was a lover of animals, she always had been and the eleven year old was almost positive that would never change. Care of Magical Creatures class was bound to be the girl’s favorite out of all of their classes. She knew it ever since her oldest sister, Arista, had started school six years before. Sure, she’d only been five years old then, but even at five she loved the feel of animal fur and the unconditional love they gave. The feel of warm fur and unconditional love were still two of the most driving forces in the now eleven year old mind as if nothing had changed in six long years. In six long years she’d become the sixth child of sixteen to attend school (a fact that she was sure the whole school, with perhaps the exception of the first years, knew) at Sonora, had six new siblings that she hadn’t had six years before and was much happier among animals than among people.

Sure, she played with her siblings and cousins, but that was pretty much it for her in the friendship realm. Her favorite person in the world was cousin Clara, if anyone knew her, they knew that. Clara’s horses were the highlight of Abi’s young life and she always loved to go ride and take care of them over in Napa. Brielle was more the people person type than Abi was. Merlin… Amira’s more a people person than I am… she thought to herself as she walked into class. This was one of the only classes that didn’t make her kind of nervous to be around people. This one had animals in it, whether they were dangerous ones or not, was not important. They were animals and they held the factor of unconditional love inside them either way (At least in her eyes).

The red-head walked into Care of Magical Creatures with a spring in her step. She was looking forward to this class more than anything else there at Sonora, the girl was sure of that. Ear to ear grin on her face brightened up the room as soon as she walked in. The professor had dimmed the lights in the room, there were pictures adorning the walls of fire ants. Abi looked at them, shocked at first, thinking of those mean Muggle fire ants. He wouldn’t bring in a Muggle animal, would he? she thought as she spotted the fish tank in the middle of the room filled with sand.

Professor Meade introduced himself and told them that they would be studying fire ants that day.

“There is a muggle kind, but this is quite different. It looks a lot like a muggle ones, but this little fellows don’t have a stinger or inject any kind of venom.”

Professor Meade paced the room and told them that was physically the only difference and repeated in a different way that these fire ants weren’t dangerous to the kids. Abi smiled, I knew it! she thought as the professor grinned and kept talking.

“Their magical properties lay on the substance they secrete which mixed with sand form little balls of crystal that are key for some swelling potions.”

He told them where they were usually found, also where these particular ants were from and Abi took her notes diligently, in her neat scroll as he talked about how their little feet tickle and that they were friendly. Forming colonies with the queen as their head, the little workers creating passageways and Abi strained her eyes to look into the tank to try to see just that.

“The assignment today is to collect the crystal balls that are at the top of the sand. They move them up because they become obstacles for them. Be careful to not destroy their work! There are buckets at the front of the classroom. You can work in pairs if you like. And your homework will be an essay on the fire ants and the properties of the crystal balls formed by them. If you have any questions just raise your hand! Have a good time,”

“So we have to get the little crystal balls off the top of the sand? That’s the class? Don’t we get to play with the ants?” she asked her neighbor, as she spotted cousin Clara with two others up by the tank. The other girl had apparently dropped one of the ants and they were standing over it. What in the world? she thought to herself as her neighbor answered her.

0 Abigail Thornton, Crotalus An ant's life, hm... interesting... 0 Abigail Thornton, Crotalus 0 5

Clarissa Clark

October 02, 2012 1:52 PM

Exoskeletons? Or just my imagination! by Clarissa Clark

Clarissa's hear was still beating rapidly in her chest as she took her place next to Clara and helped her to collect more crystals, but the work calmed her a bit. She was sure she had killed small insects before, perhaps not intentionally but by standing or leaning on them. She probably didn't even know about it, she thought. Hadn't someone told her a creepy statistic about how many spiders swallowed in their sleep? Ugh! But Clarissa definitely hadn't pulled a creature out of it's habitat and then knocked it a million times it's own body mass to the ground, and certain death - even though ants seemed hard and well designed.

As she reached into the glass cage Clarissa couldn't help thinking if the other ants would even notice one would gone. Probably not. But it had been a hard working member of their team. Surely if the ant had children they wouldn't feel the same heart wrenching agony that she had when her mother died. Would they?

What about Ruby the Rat? What if Clarissa killed her by accident? What if her family missed her already? All this being responsible for other lives was a bit much. Clarissa couldn't help but think of her Dad and everyone she loved, so far away.

Clarissa vowed to herself to take care of Ruby, because she was all the poor creature had. She could figure out how much Ruby was actually aware of later, but surely it was better to really try, just in case? For now, Clarissa herself had lots of people around her, and they, these complete strangers, were taking care of her too.

"Hey, I'm really glad I met you guys!" Clarissa said to Clara and Rupert next to her, trying not to gush. It had been a strangely emotional lesson so far.

0 Clarissa Clark Exoskeletons? Or just my imagination! 1486 Clarissa Clark 0 5

Rup

October 03, 2012 7:00 PM

Certainly didn't help when he fell... by Rup

It was really funny how Clara had gotten worked up about the ant. Rupert didn't exactly enjoy killing insects, but he would hardly have hesitated before killing an ant or a fly in his manor. Insects were necessary but annoying little things. At least, that's what his tutor had told him once. Rup was glad when Clara agreed. He didn't want Clarissa to feel bad, if she did feel bad about a dead ant. Clara seemed more motherly than Rup could ever be, and that was good. He didn't think he could handle crying girls in class.

The girls joined him and Rupert smiled in response to Clara's comment. "It was nothing," he replied with a one-shouldered shrug. It really wasn't. Rupert was the nicer one out of his brothers. Cepheus was the eldest, taught to not show emotion and 'be a manly man.' Leo was the baby of the family, and so he was selfish and spoiled beyond belief. Rupert was the one who had been left to his own devices, and so he was nice to everyone regardless of their blood status, much to the chagrin of his parents. That was mostly the reason why he had been placed under house-arrest most of his life.

Clarissa seemed to appreciate his effortless act as well. He smiled again. "I'm glad to have met you too. I never thought I'd be so glad to be in America, but I kind of am just to be able to meet new people without my parents having to screen each one." He was sure his parents were going to have Cepheus spy on him one way or another, but Rupert didn't care. It didn't matter to him that much; besides, what could his mum and dad really do all the way across the continent? Force him to be home-schooled and never meet another human being in his entire life?

The crystals were starting to fill up the buckets quickly, and once Rupert had most of his bucket filled, he held it up and admired the way it looked. "I don't know how the ants make it and I'm not sure I want to know, but it does looks pretty. People could probably make necklaces out of things like this." He paused. "You know, I bet they already have." He grinned at the girls. "Lucky for you, ladies." He looked back at the tank of ants. "I wonder if ant farms exist." He knew there were people who kept animals and breeded them for some unknown reason, but he had never thought of anyone keeping and breeding insects. It disgusted him just a little, the thought of anyone keeping tanks and tanks of these insects in their houses.

It was starting to gross him out, so Rupert shook his head. "Yuck, never mind." He looked back down at his bucket and then sighed. "Well, I think I'm done." He looked expectantly over at the girls, his facial expression questioning if they were done as well. "Did we have to do anything after this?"

0 Rup Certainly didn't help when he fell... 0 Rup 0 5

McKinley

October 05, 2012 11:09 AM

Yes, really... by McKinley

Kinley, still decked out in her plastic poncho, found herself glad that she had worn it. Especially if she would have to TOUCH anything in here. Carter looked at her, she knew he was stunned, but she didn't care. At least she was clean! His mouth was open slightly and she knew that he was trying very hard not to laugh at her.

“I know you want to.” But at least I'm clean! she thought to herself. He slapped his hand over his face and shook his head. She knew he was laughing behind his hand, but she didn't care.

She'd asked him how the ants couldn't be dangerous and he leaned towards her and whispered back,

"Most ants aren’t dangerous Kinley. They just feel funny if they touch your skin. Very few of them actually bite.”

"Bite?" she said, fear gripping her worse than the gloves she wore. Carter walked up to the front of the room, Kinley followed close behind her cousin, freaking out more and more the closer she got to the ants. Carter looked into the tank and Kinley shivered behind him.

He shook his head and she wasn't sure if he did that because he saw her or not. The Crotalus didn't care which it was. He reached into the tank and she swallowed her saliva. Eeew... icky... eeew... she thought as he pulled out a few crystals before putting them into the bucket and turning back towards the desk.

He had left her there. She peeked into the tank and shivered, feeling terribly nauseated at the sight of the little creepy crawling creatures. With her hands on the side of the tank, she froze in terror as one of the little ants crawled right up her hand.

0 McKinley Yes, really... 0 McKinley 0 5

Wendy

October 05, 2012 3:57 PM

Can we go to the woods? by Wendy

All that Wendy really thought of ants, especially the black ants that always seemed to be everywhere, were that they were pests. She had thankfully never had a huge ant problem in the apartment before, but that didn't mean they didn't appear. Her mom usually just killed them without a second thought. Ants were bad things to have in a bakery where baked goods were always being made, fresh and sweet: a big target for the pests.

Wendy couldn't see what Aria saw in the ants. Sure they seemed cool since they could carry a lot of stuff, but she didn't see what was so special about it. Wendy liked animals, not insects, and she wished that she could have been warned about these tasks earlier. She didn't want to be rude, though, so she imagined herself in an ant's position. She was digging tunnels for whatever reason, to make things easier. Maybe their tunnels were pretty cool, to some extent. And they did dig a lot, like coal miners or something.

She focused more on the tunnels curiously. "Where do you think they put all that dirt to make the tunnels?" she asked curiously, watching as the ants moving around in there. They all looked like they were going on a mission, and Wendy wondered what they were thinking. Maybe ants could be as interesting as actual animals. Not as friendly, maybe, but interesting.

"I can see why they would be interesting," she agreed finally, and looked over at Aria. "Do you like insects or just ants in general?" It was an important question. Wendy hated flies and gnats with a passion. Insects were not her favorite creatures at all. Ants were tolerable, but not the insects that flew around. Besides butterflies, maybe.

0 Wendy Can we go to the woods? 0 Wendy 0 5

Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus

October 06, 2012 1:37 AM

Not sure there are many wooded areas around here. by Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus

”Finally, a class I will have fun in.” Alex had thought to herself while walking to her Care of Magical Creatures class. She loved animals, probably more than she liked any person. Animals were innocent and needed to be protected, especially since they didn’t have a voice of their own to let people know what they needed. She hummed a little tune under her breath while hurrying, in a lady like manner of course, to make it to class on time. She took a seat at a table near the back of the class upon entering and eagerly awaited finding out what it was they would be doing today.

Then she noticed the giant tank in the front of the classroom. “Okay..” she said to herself, “I guess we are doing something with fish? Or frogs?” She hoped it wasn’t frogs. They were pretty slimy and gross. Her brother had brought a frog that he found near their pond into the house one time. It was not a pleasant experience.

When she heard that there were ants inside of the giant tank, Alex groaned internally. Ants? Really? What is so interesting about them? She made her way hesitantly to the tank with a bucket and stared inside at the crystals she was supposed to collect. She debated back and forth over whether to try to complete this assignment. Ants were bugs to her; ones that no one wants near their homes. Why does she have to take their crystals? What if one of them accidently touches her? Ew.

She saw Wendy sitting at a table, her bucket almost completely full, talking to a girl Alex wasn’t acquainted with yet. She made her way to the table and sat in a seat behind them. “SO not my idea of fun,” she said butting into their conversation, “I really don’t want to touch one of them by accident. I prefer creatures that have fur. ” Then Alex felt an odd sense of conviction. “Then again,” she began, “I suppose all life should be valued. I just don’t want to be the one touching them.”

0 Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus Not sure there are many wooded areas around here. 0 Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus 0 5

Melanie Lennox, Teppenpaw

October 06, 2012 3:20 AM

Ugh, bugs, by Melanie Lennox, Teppenpaw

Care of Magical Creatures was a mixed bag for Melanie. On the one hand, there were animals that were cute or pretty, and it was the closest she ever got to them being that she wasn't allowed a pet. On the other, there were a lot of animals that were gross or dangerous, though fortunately they hadn't really done the latter yet. Melanie didn't really think she ever would, given that she was likely to drop this class after CATS and she didn't believe that a teacher would put them in danger anyway.

She didn't really mind that the class was going to be in the classroom either, rather than outdoors. In fact, the Teppenpaw sort of preferred that as she was very much an indoor girl. It was how she'd been raised, to do things inside the house rather than play outside, play dolls and the piano rather than climb trees. Besides, Valerie couldn't exactly go outside much and Melanie never wanted to abandon her.

Unfortunately, today's lesson involved bugs and the second year hated them. The idea of the ants getting loose and crawling all over her churned her stomach a bit. Even though her greatest fear was losing her sister, having bugs swarming all over her was high on the list. Or eating a live bug by mistake or eating something that one had landed on. It was just unsanitary and she'd been raised believing how awful germs were. Melanie wasn't the sort that got upset if an object was moved slightly and she wasn't going to have a panic attack if dirt got on her but she did like things clean. She'd grown up in an extremely clean home.

That was what she was used to. COMC pushed her out of her comfort zone and that was thing about having one, it was where it was comfortable. To be forced out of it could cause one to become anxious and fearful, which in turn caused them to become upset, but Melanie would overcome that. She would be strong and do the lesson without complaint. She would not let others see her disgust and she wasn't really that afraid. The ants would not be swarming all over the Teppenpaw and she would not be subjected to the awful feeling of them crawling up her legs and her arms and her face. If they did, Melanie would be able to move quickly, brush them off.

Besides, all she had to do was collect the sort of pretty crystal balls off the top. She didn't have to actually touch the ants at all, and this made her feel better. They weren't the second year's favorite topic, but she didn't mind doing the homework about them either. The idea of learning about something made them seem a little less scary and awful, though there were certainly some things that were better read about than experienced. Melanie walked up to the tank and tried to squeeze herself in. "Excuse me," she said, upon bumping into someone.

11 Melanie Lennox, Teppenpaw Ugh, bugs, 226 Melanie Lennox, Teppenpaw 0 5

Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus

October 06, 2012 5:15 AM

Is one not worthy. by Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus

Now that she was a second year and not being forced to take Flying with that wretched hag Amelia Pierce, Care of Magical Creatures was without a doubt the class Carrie hated the most. Animals were disgusting bits of filth, like that flea-bitten mongrel that Ryan had. There were few things in the world that the second year wanted to see happen then for it to be taken away, back to that disease ridden shelter that it had come from. Not only so she could have the slobbery creature away from her, getting it's filth and stench out of her home but so she could find pleasure in Ryan's pain.

Even better would be if Carrie could be rid of them all, her brother and his beast and that awful woman and her brats-and the baby. Her new little half-sister, Peyton. She hadn't even met the child but she wanted her gone. Jamie could leave and take them all, leaving the Crotalus with just her father and then her parents could get back together and it would be just like before but with no Ryan. She would get everything she could ever ask for, her mother would see to it.

Actually, it would be better if Carrie could at least live with her mother but the courts wouldn't allow that. That cretin Sophie's father had ruined that for her too. All she was getting were supervised visits, with that blasted social worker. It was her grandparents' fault too, for not supporting her mother in the custody battle like they should. They were as dumb and blind as everyone else, who didn't realize how wonderful that she and her mother were while preferring those lesser beings.

Instead, now she had to live with her wicked cruel stepmother and the woman's freakish spawn and now a drooling, disgusting, smelly little baby. Who everyone would coo over like they had Ivy when the attention should be lavished on the Crotalus instead. The world revolved around on her , not Peyton-or Ivy either.

She heard the substitute give the lesson. Ants? Really? How dreadful and disgusting! Carrie Pearl O'Malley did not deal with insects. She did not touch them, she didn't deal with their by products. The Crotalus didn't care if all she was going to touch were the crystal balls on top, she was not working with bugs. Oh, she wouldn't leave this time, memories of being hexed and forced to lie motionless on the ground by that despicable Coach Pierce were fresh in the second year's mind, but nor was she going to do the work either.

11 Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus Is one not worthy. 230 Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus 0 5

Amity Brockert, Aladren

October 06, 2012 10:41 PM

I'm sure it's happy to escape that fate. by Amity Brockert, Aladren

Unlike most Aladrens, Amity did not get too excited about classes. They were all really pretty interesting but she would rather have the time to do whatever she wanted. The freedom she had was amazing and she cherished every single moment. Not that she always knew what to do with herself, mostly she read stuff that was pure enjoyment, works of fiction that was somewhere between things that made her think and pure fluff. She was discovering all sorts of books meant for girls her age and really enjoying them.

It was all Amity had ever really wanted. To have a chance to be a kid. Do fun things like visit the zoo with her cousins, which her mother had always refused to let her and Chaslyn do because they had to go to some sort of lessons instead. She'd had toys, gifts from her relatives who were sympathetic, but never really gotten to play with them. There was never any time. Everything had to be for self-improvement and accomplishment.

Amity hated that. It wasn't fun, it was work and she despised work. She was glad every day to be a pureblood girl and not have to worry about a career. All she had to do was get married, have children and throw the occasional party. The first year would hire a nanny and a good party planner and she'd be set.

But she'd never put her children through all that she'd had to do. The only lessons they would ever have were the normal pureblood ones like etiquette and she would never, ever make them compete in anything.Amity was going to make sure they were able to enjoy life, the way she'd never gotten to thus far.

Today, she'd been in the middle of a particularly good book and really hadn't wanted to come to class and have to put it down. The Aladren had found a particularly good series and had been completely sucked in. Instead, she had to go to Care of Magical Creatures, but her mind was still on her reading. At least, though, she had the opportunity to read something solely for entertainment, even if she did have to go to these pesky classes. It was still better than home.

Furthermore, at least today's lesson didn't sound that difficult. All they had to do was collect these crystal balls on top. Pity, really, since the idea of Carrie having to touch the bugs amused Amity greatly. She approached the tank and found a spot next to Effie. "Would you like to work together?" She asked. Working with the Crotalus would only help them to become better friends.

11 Amity Brockert, Aladren I'm sure it's happy to escape that fate. 233 Amity Brockert, Aladren 0 5

Clara

October 07, 2012 2:44 PM

No..it probably didn't by Clara

Clara thought Rup was being slightly modest when he shrugged and said "It was nothing," Still she had to admit that even she herself had been known to squash a bug or two and not think much about it. She smiled at both of them and nodded that she was glad to have me them as well. She had been at Sonora now for two years and outside of a handful of people, she hadn't really met many people yet. She really liked Waverly, Lucian and Angel. Her encounter with Lucianna had been pretty brief, but she seemed nice too. She had met one of the Anns and she seemed pretty cool as well. She wasn't all that surprised to find out that Rupert wasn't originally from the states, (his accent sort-of gave it away) she was surprised however to find out that his parents actually screened his friends.

Clara's own father had never screened anyone she ever talked to mostly because she figured that he really wanted her to meet people and be the friendly person he knew her to be. Kind of hard to do that when he caged her in. So he encouraged her to branch out and experience people for herself. So far she had not been disappointed. She found herself agreeing slightly with his idea that there might be people out there who made jewelry out of the crystals. Not that she herself would want to wear one, but it still seemed like a cool idea. She giggled slightly at his comment on them being lucky. "I don't know about that," she admitted, her nose wrinkling a little. "I don't think I could ever picture myself wearing something that came from an ant's butt." She debated on whether or not she should tell him that there indeed were ant farms that existed and that they were mostly owned by muggles. Given his comment just seconds before she decided to tell him, she figured it was probably best to keep that comment to herself. She didn't want to gross him out more.

Clara glanced down into her bucket and figuring that she probably had a decent amount of butt crystals in her bucket nodded that she too was finished. "I think I'm good too," she told them. Then she frowned slighlty as she thought about whether or not they had anything else they were supposed to do. "I don't think we had to do anything else besides this," she replied. She honestly couldn't remember. She glanced towards Clarissa. "Was there something else we had to do?" she asked her,hoping that she might rememeber somehting Clara missed.

0 Clara No..it probably didn't 232 Clara 0 5

Aria

October 07, 2012 3:16 PM

Just the gardens by Aria

Maybe Aria was strange for thinking this lesson was actually pretty educational and fun because this girl, Wendy, was looking at her strangely. By now, Aria ought to be used to such looks. She received them from just about everyone she had come into contact with, but it was still sometimes frustrating. Why couldn’t anyone see what she saw? Why was it so hard to imagine the beauty in something like an ant? Yes they were pests and her mother would never want them in their home, but what they did on a day to day thing was rather fabulous. Aria doubted a person could do all that they did.

“I think part of the dirt because this crystal ball that they secrete.” Aria stated, although she really wasn’t sure. It just seemed to make sense. “But I think most of it just gets pushed to the surface.” Aria smiled when Wendy agreed that they could be considered interesting. See, all one had to do was actually look at the creatures before casting judgment upon them. Aria opened her mouth answer Wendy’s question when they were interrupted by another first year. She was another one like Wendy and Aria had to repress a sigh. She was going to have to do extra mediation in the morning to rid herself of her impatience. Aria grew up being taught the importance of all creatures and to respect them no matter the species. Others grew up not caring enough to look where they stepped let alone how important something could be.

Aria stared blankly at the girl trying to work out how to go about talking to her. She remembered the girl’s last name because it was the same as Lucien’s, a boy in her year. She assumed they were related, but not sure as to whether they were siblings or cousins. She did not remember her first name. “Yes, all life should be valued.” Aria agreed. She didn’t see why learning had to be fun or why this wasn’t fun, but everyone had a right to their own opinion. She had worked up there and hadn’t come in contact with any of the ants, so she didn’t see a reason to even worry about that at all.

“We were just discussing how fascinating ants were for their uniqueness.” Aria explained to the girl. “And to answer your question, I do not actually like ants; I just think they are fascinating. That could go for any insect really. If you take the time to think about what they do, how they survive, what they contribute to the world, they are all very wonderful.” Aria commented. “Without insects, we would not have flowers. Without insects, there would be no honey or wax or silk. Without insects, garbage would pile up... Anyway, you get the idea.” Aria stated, not in a mean way or anything, in fact, she had returned to her wistful voice as she thought about it. “People see them as gross pests, but the world needs them to survive. One has to put everything into perspectives before they pass judgement.”

0 Aria Just the gardens 0 Aria 0 5

Effie Arbon

October 07, 2012 5:05 PM

Well, it's normally perfectly safe there by Effie Arbon

Effie turned to the source of the voice, relieved to find that it was Amity Brockert, whom she had met during flying class. She had been a little perplexed by the notion of forming partnerships in this class when there was barely enough to the task to keep her occupied for the full time. She had been prepared to brush off any Muggleborn interlopers with the fact that she was managing perfectly fine by herself. However, she was certainly glad to have a chance to speak further with Amity. Perhaps working in pairs simply meant a licence to chat with the person next to them. That was certainly an interpretation which she was willing to take.

“That would be a pleasure,” she smiled. “I confess that this class is somewhat new to me,” the word 'somewhat' could have been replaced with the word 'entirely' and it would have rendered the statement no less truthful – possibly it would have made it more so. However, it was not a wise move to admit to complete ignorance of a subject. Naturally, having grown up in a magical household, she had some general knowledge of the creatures that inhabited her world. The idea of them was not, as it would be to some people, completely jaw-gapingly new and astounding to her. “So far, it does not seem entirely disagreeable,” she commented. It was safe to have an opinion with another girl so long as it was not a terribly contentious one. The comment which she had put forth could be taken as faint praise, understatement or putting on a brave face, depending on how Amity felt.

The majority of the crystals from the surface had now been taken. However, it would be safe to brush away a little dirt. She looked at the cross-section of the tank presented through the class. There was some depth before the tunnels began, although they could reach different heights at different points in the tank. She brushed away the uppermost layers of the soft, dry earth, revealing the tops of a few more crystals. The textbook had mentioned that they could be somewhat stickier until they had been exposed to the air for a few minutes and so she would leave them to sit for a moment or two before attempting to handle them.

13 Effie Arbon Well, it's normally perfectly safe there 238 Effie Arbon 0 5

Wendy

October 10, 2012 11:45 PM

Can we go to the gardens then? by Wendy

Wendy smiled a greeting at Alex, glad that she wasn't the only one not a fan of these ants. "I like creatures that have fur too," she agreed. "Or feathers, or scales or whatever. Well, actually I guess it doesn't really matter what their outside is like." Wendy had never thought about it before, but she definitely did like furry animals the best. Aria explained what she thought about ants, and it all made sense. Wendy had learned about the different insects in elementary school. She had even gotten to raise silkworms in the fifth grade before she was called away to Sonora. It was fascinating, but silkworms were different from ants. Ants were pests in Wendy's mind. In the great outdoors they weren't horrible at all; they were wonderful. But not wonderful in the apartment or Mom's bakery.

"I guess so," she said, shrugging. "They totally look like they belong when I'm out camping with my family or something. They just look gross, but I know that they do good stuff. They are pests when they come into my mom's bakery, though. They're just setting themselves up for it then." Sometimes Wendy wished insects were a little smarter, but one of her friends back from her elementary school had said that, if insects were as smart as humans, they would rule the world cause there was more of them than of people. It was a scary thought. After that, Wendy couldn't watch any movies about bugs.

Wendy appreciated that Aria liked to think about the insects, though. She knew that she herself was like that about all animals in general. Her parents didn't like pets, and she was sure her dad was allergic to cats even though he denied it all the time. That was why Waverly couldn't get an owl for school and why Wendy couldn't get a kitten. Besides the fact that they lived above her mom's bakery, it would have been okay. She just wished there could be more animals in her life.

Wendy sighed wistfully. "Animals, insects: they're all cool. I just wish I could have a pet. My parents won't let me have one. Do you guys have pets like owls or something else?"

0 Wendy Can we go to the gardens then? 0 Wendy 0 5

Amity

October 12, 2012 11:35 AM

Wouldn't things under our feet be squished? by Amity

The Aladren nodded. That must have been nice, not to have to learn so much before even going to school. "I had to study a little about magical creatures before Sonora, to prepare me for this class, but it wasn't anything hands on or practical." Technically, Amity had had to study a lot about magical creatures but there wasn't enough time, there was never enough time for anything and therefore, her knowledge was unsatisfactory. In her mother's opinion, not her own, of course.

In Amity's opinion, she knew as much as she cared to about some things. Which again made her quite frankly wonder what she was doing in Aladren in the first place. She was sort of tired of learning all the time. Amity needed a chance to relax and have fun, thinking once more of her book. Maybe that was why she'd been sorted where she had been, though sometimes she wanted to be in Crotalus with Effie and Isabel. They were roommates and they'd probably end up closer with each other than her. Maybe Amity should make an effort to bring Bianca into the group.

Besides, there would definitely be drawbacks to being in Crotalus. Her Sorting was for the best even though the first year was sure some there would be horrified about her attitude towards learning. Okay, of course she wanted to learn to do magic, one was useless without it, but Amity saw no reason to go above and beyond. She'd had quite enough of that and she felt that she would be far happier not pushing herself in things. The outcome was never worth it, if the Aladren did do something well, Mother just wanted her to be even better. She wanted Amity to be perfect and that was just too much work.

"It definitely doesn't sound difficult." The first year replied. That was the main thing that she cared about. The less she had to do the better.It was bad enough to have to be somewhere at a particular time. A life where she could do whatever she wanted-within reason-whenever she wanted was a life that Amity craved. She didn't want to be challenged. She'd had enough of that. Overcoming and accomplishing wasn't worth it when you were still going to be told you weren't good enough anyway and given suggestions for how to improve.

She stood next to Effie and looked down at the aquarium. The Aladren dug down a little to find one of the crystal balls. "So, how are things going for you?" She asked the Crotalus.

11 Amity Wouldn't things under our feet be squished? 233 Amity 0 5

Sub. Professor Adrian Meade

An Ant Life! [Beginners] by Sub. Professor Adrian Meade

Rupert Princeton, Pecari

Ants are troopers. by Rupert Princeton, Pecari

Clara Abernathy, Pecari

They're also builders...I think. by Clara Abernathy, Pecari

Clarissa Clark

And are we helping them or just interfering? by Clarissa Clark

Effie Arbon

A whole world normally under our feet by Effie Arbon

Rupert

<i>They're</i> really the ones helping us. by Rupert

Carter Browning, Teppenpaw

Fire Ants?...Seriously? by Carter Browning, Teppenpaw

Clara Abernathy

They are?...SWEET! by Clara Abernathy

Clarissa Clark

They are quite sweet actually. For things with shells. by Clarissa Clark

McKinley Andrews, Crotalus

That's my question too... by McKinley Andrews, Crotalus

Carter Browning, Teppenpaw

Plastic Kinley? Really? by Carter Browning, Teppenpaw

Rupert

Shells...? by Rupert

Wendy Canterbury - Pecari

Where are the unicorns? by Wendy Canterbury - Pecari

Aria Yale, Teppenpaw

Probably back in the woods. by Aria Yale, Teppenpaw

Clara

Who said anything about shells? by Clara

Abigail Thornton, Crotalus

An ant's life, hm... interesting... by Abigail Thornton, Crotalus

Clarissa Clark

Exoskeletons? Or just my imagination! by Clarissa Clark

Rup

Certainly didn't help when he fell... by Rup

McKinley

Yes, really... by McKinley

Wendy

Can we go to the woods? by Wendy

Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus

Not sure there are many wooded areas around here. by Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus

Melanie Lennox, Teppenpaw

Ugh, bugs, by Melanie Lennox, Teppenpaw

Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus

Is one not worthy. by Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus

Amity Brockert, Aladren

I'm sure it's happy to escape that fate. by Amity Brockert, Aladren

Clara

No..it probably didn't by Clara

Aria

Just the gardens by Aria

Effie Arbon

Well, it's normally perfectly safe there by Effie Arbon

Wendy

Can we go to the gardens then? by Wendy

Amity

Wouldn't things <i>under </i> our feet be squished? by Amity