Nathan Xavier
February 05, 2022 1:22 PM
Intermediates: Labyrinth in Review by Nathan Xavier
Nathan Xavier stood in his normal place in front of Greenhouse One as the Intermediates arrived, feeling more on top of the new school year than he had in years. His two children were getting bigger and more self-reliant, and he'd actually had opportunities to do planning and prep work over the summer that was a little more than the cursory 'look over old notes and figure he'd try the same thing again' that had been his go-to since Dora was born.He handed out syllabi to each third through fifth year student as they arrived in the clearing in front of the Sonora Greenhouses, welcoming them back to Sonora, and inviting them to wait outside because while the Gardens were quite warm on this early September day, inside the Greenhouse it was even hotter. Once he had the whole class gathered in front of the greenhouses, he cast a mild sonorus charm on himself so they could all hear him as he made initial statements.
"To the fourth and fifth years among you, welcome back to Intermediate Herbology. To the third years, congratulations, you've made it past the basics and things will get a bit more interesting from here. As you probably all recall, the Greenhouse is quite unpleasantly hot this time of year, so I usually try to plan lessons to take advantage of the nicer weather we have out here. And since it's our first day back after a long summer, I'm not going to introduce anything new today, but just do some review. Would the fifth years please raise your hands?" He used his wand to levitate a hand-out to all the self-identified fifth years. "Fourth years?" A different set of papers went out to them. "Third years?" A final version of the hand-out went out to the last group. "Did anyone not get a paper?"
Once he sorted out any missing handouts, he went over what they were looking at. "What you've got there is a Bingo card of specific and general types of plants." The older the year, the more specific the plants became, as he expected them to be able to identify a larger variety of magical plants by sight, while third years were only expected to be able to pick out whether a plant belonged to certain categories. "Your assignment today is to use what you know about herbology to locate a specimen of each plant listed on your paper. You'll earn points for each line you manage to complete and a free homework pass to anyone who can complete your whole card. When you find a plant meeting one of the items on your card, touch some part of that plant the appropriate square, and the box will mark itself as complete by turning green."
"Are there any questions?"
Once he addressed those, he made an inviting gesture to the gardens around them. "Go ahead and start hunting. You may work together if you like. Raise sparks if you need any help. Good luck, Intermediates. When you're done, bring your card back here to turn it in to me. If I'm not here for some reason, put your name on it and stick it under the greenhouse door. Class is over when you either finish or at the normal dismissal time. You can leave your bags and robes here if you don't want to wear them or carry them around with you."
OOC: Items on the list may be as specific as 'Fanged Geranium' or as general as 'a vegetable'. There will not be anything especially dangerous on the sheets like a whomping willow or devil's snare, as those would be kept in restricted areas of the Gardens. Feel free to chose what plants you want for this as there will be variation between the sheets.
Subthreads: I can do this! by Xavier Lundstrom with Valentine Duell
Good influences by Oz Spellman with Billy Cobb
This should be fun! by Iris Cobb with Lydia Priory
1
Nathan Xavier
Intermediates: Labyrinth in Review
28
1
5
Oz Spellman
February 07, 2022 1:23 AM
Good influences by Oz Spellman
It had been a really weird day. On paper, Xavier was meant to be a much better student than Oz. Oz didn't need to see their transcripts from before Sonora to know that. He would bet his next three hot meals that Xavier could outclass him academically without even really trying. The 'without really trying' was the key part there. Oz wasn't stupid, at least not in academic terms. He was kind of stupid in how much he let bad influences or set backs get to him. He could have done better in school if he had just applied himself. Xavier had glided through life without anything ever really touching him. Oz wrestled constantly with the idea that if he'd had the breaks Xavier had, their transcripts would have been reversed, versus the idea that it was fundamentally himself that was at fault. After all, it was possible to have his genes and be raised in the exact same environment and not be a screw up. There was living proof. What did that leave except personality flaws?Now though, that was sort of behind them. The morning had been weird because he had sat next to Xavier, who'd probably never had a bad report card in his life, and watched him struggle. Like, really struggle. Oz had known from Xavier confiding in him that his magic was all screwed up but it was different seeing it for real. He could practically feel the frustration and the fear radiating off Xav, though he didn't blow his lid like Oz would have done. He seeemed determined to keep it quiet, not wanting to draw any extra attention to himself. In that sense, Xav was still going to be a good influence on him. He was focussed and adverse to having an audience, which was the opposite of Oz's natural tendencies. Oz wanted to do the right things for Xav though. More than that, he wanted to help. Not drawing unwanted attention didn't really feel like enough. It was stupid to hope he could fix it when teachers and stuff couldn't, but best friends - proper actual best friends, not the kinds of people he'd had back home - were meant to look after each other.
Still, there wasn't a lot he could do about it in herbology, unless Professor Xavier happened to have a magic plant to cure magic blockages. He sort of figured that if he did, someone might have tried that by now.
This prediction did indeed prove correct, though Oz's mind lightened quite a lot at the idea of running about in the gardens for the next hour. This was his kind of lesson! Minimum supervision, maximum fun! He took a cursory glance at his sheet, feeling like it'd be pretty okay. The Henry voice in his head was talking about priorities and staying focused. It had a point... He bounced on the balls of his feet, glancing around for a partner. Xav seeemed to have disappeared, which was probably for the best as Oz didn't want anyone to think they were dating, which they might if the two of them hung out every single lesson... How much he stayed on task was, after a long day of being on best behaviour, probably going to depend a lot on who he partnered with...
OOC: Mentions of Xavier allowed because he is also my character.
13
Oz Spellman
Good influences
1514
0
5
Billy Cobb
February 09, 2022 10:00 AM
Like me. by Billy Cobb
Herbology was usually a good class. It at least didn't usually feel to Billy like he was trapped in a classroom. The greenhouses were about as 'outside' as you could get while still having a roof and walls around you. Plus Professor Xavier was a nice teacher. As such, Billy didn't linger until the absolute last moment to find his way inside. He certainly wasn't early by any stretch of the imagination, outside the greenhouse wasn't just a musty ol' hallway, it was actual outside.The assignment for the day sounded great! They were gunna spend the class wandering the garden? Awesome! The question was, who did he want to wander with? Well, frankly that was kind of a stupid question, Ray was back in his classes this year! Which meant so was Iris. Ugh. That thought made him think a moment, and reluctantly gave up his quest for Ray, to find someone else. Oz.
He spotted his roommate and friend, and quickly found his way over to him. "Hey Oz! Bet I can get my sheet filled out first!" He challenged with a friendly smile. "Come on, let's go!" Then without really waiting he headed out into the gardens, still not having looked at his sheet at all. Hopefully Oz would catch up. They had some talkin' to do once they were away from other folks.
2
Billy Cobb
Like me.
1519
0
5
Oz Spellman
February 09, 2022 2:54 PM
Sometimes by Oz Spellman
It was Billy who found Oz first, though the fact that he initiated partnering up as a competition more than an actual partnership meant there was a snowball's chance they'd get something done. Along with living together, it was things like this that made it hard to shake Billy. Oz couldn't deny that maybe nine times out of ten they were a slightly bad influence on each other, pulling each other off topic, but there was that one time in ten when their energy vibed in a way that was actually constructive, and which made him not want to relegate Billy to the list of Bad Influences. There was also maybe the fact that the bad influence was only slight; Oz was used to bad influences who worked him into a corner where he had to do things he didn't actually want to do. When he and Billy were 'bad' together, it was usually also fun. It was the same conundrum he'd faced before, in some ways - doing well in school and getting others to like him seemed to be in direct competition. And even if adults said it was obvious what you should choose, it really wasn't."You're on," he grinned, not at all daunted by the fact that recognising plants actually played into Billy's skillset far more than his. A challenge had been issued, and the thrill of competition was pumping in his veins. He took a quick look at his sheet, noticing one of his items was 'anything used in a potion.'
He followed Billy, pausing when he saw a plant his was pretty sure he had cut up in potions. He tapped it against the box. Nothing happened. He tapped again, wondering if he'd misheard the instructions, but then figured he was more likely to be misidentifying the plant.
And that wrong answers didn't count against you.
Yes! Kind, Teppenpawish Professor Xavier wasn't the kind to let their worksheets end up a mess of big red Xs. Oz tested this theory (which made him sound much smarter than saying 'cheated like a cheetah') by smushing his whole worksheet against the hedge. When he pulled it away, it had checked two boxes. Even better, one was for 'variegated leaves,' which he had no idea of the meaning of. Yes!
He jogged to catch up with Billy, determined not to show him this shortcut.
"Two down," he grinned.
OOC: Worksheet mechanics confirmed with Professor Xavier.
13
Oz Spellman
Sometimes
1514
0
5
Billy Cobb
February 09, 2022 6:20 PM
All the time! by Billy Cobb
Billy jogged along the path sliding his paper along the plants that lined the one side as he went. He wasn't sure if the tactic would work, but if it did this would be a really easy assignment. They could get it done fast and then have some fun. He stopped to examine his work so far. One of the squares had turned green and there were a few minor tears in the paper. He briefly wondered if that would count against his score, but he hadn't remembered the professor saying anything about the state of the paper, just that it had to be turned back in. He also assumed, the professor would need to be able to see which squares were green though.He looked up as Oz approached with a grin. "Aww.. I only got one so far." he commented showing his roommate his sheet. The plants along this particular path had been pretty uniform. "I'm gunna have to find a more varied place." He looked at his sheet and for the first time actually looked at the things he was supposed to be finding. He grinned, "I know where to find some of this stuff! Come on!" He waved to Oz and started off once more, holding the paper in the plants again as he went. You never knew... maybe something was hiding in there.
"Anyway," he said to his roommate, "The other reason I wanted ta team up with you was so we could talk just a bit." Billy nonchalantly turned left deeper into the gardens as he walked and talked. "I was jus' wondering after the ball 'n all last year..." He fought with his words for a minute looking a bit uncomfortable, "Well... do you got any idea what's going on with your brother and my sister?" His own thoughts on the subject of Ray were, well those of a fourteen year old boy, and the idea of anyone having any such thoughts along those lines about his sister made him uncomfortable. "You know if there's anything I should be worried about?" He looked at Oz with a pile of unsureness.
2
Billy Cobb
All the time!
1519
0
5
Oz Spellman
February 10, 2022 3:16 PM
No by Oz Spellman
It seemed like Billy had hit on the same strategy as he had. Dang, there went his competitive advantage."I was doing the same," he said, deciding that it was better to admit this than to look like he was copying as he also trailed his sheet along the plants they were walking past. He stooped to get some ground ones too, figuring that there would be a variety.
The fact that Billy wanted to talk did not raise immediate alarm bells, given that he really did little else. Though when the subject turned to Iris and Henry and their date, Oz almost fell over his own feet. It wasn't a subject he particularly wanted to think about. Yeah, he had a lot of his own opinions on how kissing and touching might be all kinds of awesome. But he definitely didn't want to think about Henry having those kinds of thoughts, especially not about Billy's sister. He was pretty sure that the best way to deal with that was definitely not making it a subject of conversation. Billy, as usual, had other ideas. The worst part, was he seemed to know exactly what they were talking about too, because he was talking about needing to worry about things. Ew. Oz's mom had been nineteen when she had him and Henry. 'An accident but not a mistake' was how she'd always tried to differentiate it, to make it clear that no, this was not a good life plan, and they absolutely should not follow in her footsteps but she didn't regret or resent their existence. She had been pretty clear on what was safe and what was unsafe. Oz suspected he had had those lectures repeated more often, both because he was more likely to do something stupid and because he always needed telling everything more than once for it to go in. So, no obviously Henry wasn't going to do gross things with Iris, and now he just had to deny that possibility whilst mentioning it as little as possible because it was all icky. There was also that churning, fiery feeling he felt whenever anyone expressed something that was not entirely neutral or positive about Henry.
"I dunno. They just went to the ball," he shrugged it off, like it hadn't been a big deal. That was the impression he had got from Henry too, when he'd asked. She's fine. It was fine. Kinda weird. Oz had agreed most heavily with the last point, both in terms of that being his own experience with Lorena and because he agreed Iris was weird. He wasn't sure whether Billy now wanted something to be going on, or definitely didn't want anything to be going on, but he figured downplaying it as just one date was a good idea either way. Oz definitely didn't want anything to be going on. He'd really only just got Henry back, had just patched over all the ginormous cracks he'd made in their relationship. It was bad enough that he and Henry had to be in separate rooms here at school, and Oz didn't want some girl stealing him during their waking hours on top of that. "And it's Henry," he pointed out, regarding Billy's other question. "Sensible is the only mode he has." He felt a little bad saying it, reducing Henry to a single dimension, when he could also be kind, driven, and even funny. Those things were mostly reserved for Oz and their mom though. They were private parts of Henry that Billy, and Iris and everyone else, hadn't earnt yet. Oz ignored the voice saying that he had un-earnt them. And the one trying to remind him about Henry's random Robin Hood spree. Henry was sensible, and wasn't going to do acts of unspeakable grossness with a girl. That was the bit that mattered right now.
OOC: Bits about Henry supplied by his author
13
Oz Spellman
No
1514
0
5
Billy Cobb
February 11, 2022 7:40 PM
No? by Billy Cobb
Billy took a look at Oz's sheet. He had some different stuff on his and two green squares already. Dangit. Oh well. "It was nice of the professor to set it up like this, but..." he paused to look at his own paper again. "Some of this stuff we'll have to hunt down specifically I think." It was odd, Oz's sheet didn't have the same small tears and such on it that his did. Oh well.Oz just kinda shrugged at his question about Iris an Henry. A flood of relief ran through him, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Whew." he exclaimed, "That's good. Still.." he paused, "Iris wouldn't talk about it at all, I was hoping it didn't go extreme one way or the other." By the sounds of Oz's comment it hadn't. That was good, he didn't need to worry about anything, yet. Oz was right about Henry though, if there was one boy that he knew around this place, Henry might well be the best one for this sort of thing. "If you hear about anything changing, you'll let me know, right?" He asked.
Nice! Another square had turned green on his sheet as they'd been walking. "Hey," he interjected, "What 'bout you and Lorena? How'd that go?" He waggled his eyebrows mischievously at his roommate. "Did you write over the summer at all, or call it quits after the dance?" He'd not written to many to Ray over the summer. Pa had told him to be careful about that sort of stuff soon after they'd gotten home.
2
Billy Cobb
No?
1519
0
5
Oz Spellman
February 13, 2022 3:59 PM
Definitely not by Oz Spellman
OOC: CW mild homophobia BIC:
Billy seemed to have hit on the same conclusion, which was that the less romantically entangled Henry and Iris were, the better. Well, at least three out of four of them seemed to be on the same page. He just had to hope Iris hadn't got any silly ideas into her head, though given that she was a girl, that was maybe too much to hope for.
"Sure," he nodded, to Billy's comment. If Iris started being an idiot, he would tell him in a heartbeat. If Henry was, or if there was anything he did that Billy might disapprove of, Oz was definitely keeping that information as far away from his roommate as possible.
Him and Lorena had been about as exciting as Henry and Iris, he suspected. He liked to think he'd done a bit better than his brother, and he had made her laugh a few times. He'd agreed with Henry that dates were weird and awkward, hoping that the implicit pact was that they would wait another four years before going on any more of them.
"She thinks I'm funny, in the good way," he grinned. He wasn't sure whether he had down played it for Henry or was playing it up for Billy. He had had an okay time, and it was true that she'd laughed at his jokes, which was a good start. He wasn't really sure what to do with that, or the feelings that other people could be Fun, or how to make those two things connect in a way where one led to the other. "I don't do letters," he shrugged. Billy should know this. They'd been friends for years and barely exchanged a word during the holidays. Who wanted to do extra writing during the holidays, or figure out owls? Or pay for them. He wasn't sure how much it cost to send wizard mail, but he hated asking his mom for extra money for anything. He almost brought up that he'd talked to Xavier in the holidays, just to prove he wasn't a total social outcast, he just needed other people to know normal ways of communicating, but then he reconsidered. 'No, I didn't write to my ball date but I did phone calls with A Known Gay'... It wasn't like that, but Oz knew how it sounded. He did sort of wonder if Billy knew that about Xav, or knew what that meant, as he got the impression that Billy spent most of life under a rock of absolute cluelessness, but apparently he knew some stuff about what girls and boys got up to, so maybe he knew more than Oz realised. "Guess we'll just see how it goes this year."
13
Oz Spellman
Definitely not
1514
0
5
