Professor Tallec
February 15, 2015 9:27 PM
Sea Serpent Watching in Room 1 [Intermediates] by Professor Tallec
“Alright then,” Richard said to himself while admiring his hardy work. He had just finished putting together the gallon buckets that the Intermediate Students would be using, inside of which were several live fish. Even thought they weren’t much bigger than the size of his palm, and in water to boot, they still gave off quite a fishy odor. Richard thought charming away the fish stink would take away from the fun of the experience, so he decided that lids would be an acceptable substitute. Personally he liked the smell, as it reminded him of his days studying Kelpie in England, although the Kelpie were much more interested in eating him than the fish. After the buckets had been prepared, Richard checked his watch and waited for the students to arrive to the designated meeting area in Room 1. As a teacher, he didn’t use the MARS room nearly as much as the students, and what a shame it was for he found it to be quite a relaxing place. The light creaking of the boats on the shore, matched with the salty sea air made him tempted to cancel the lesson and have a swim day. However there was a group of Sea Serpents awaiting them, and he didn’t want to disappoint.Richard had instructed the class to wear clothes they didn’t mind getting dirty or wet, since they would be spending an afternoon at sea. As a result he too was dressed rather casually, deciding a on a red v-neck t-shirt and his navy blue swim trunks. Today he would not only be playing professor but lifeguard as well. “I’m glad you all could all find your way,” he greeted with a warm smile once all the students had gathered near the shore. “Since we have been studying the Sea Serpent recently, I thought it would be fun if we went Sea Serpent watching!” he said with a boyish grin. He was exited to be getting out of the classroom, as Richard felt that it was long overdue.
“In partners, I want you to complete the sheet I gave you last class. You will be recording 1) the number of Sea Serpents you see, 2) the number of humps that rise out of the water as they swim, 3) how long it takes them to go after the fish you throw, along with any other observations on their appearance and behavior,” he said while reading off his own copy.
“You will find your buckets of fish are already inside your boat, but I will demonstrate with this one here,” he said as he opened a bucket he had prepared for the fish throwing demonstration. Using the Levitation Charm, Richard moved the fish to his desired distance before letting it fall into the water. “Of course you are welcome to use your hands,” he said with a grin as he popped the lid back on the bucket, “but be prepared to get a little wet.”
“Speaking of which, once I release you, the first thing I would like you all to do is put on a life vest. Although there is an anti-tipping charm on the boat, I want you all to wear one for safety reasons,” he said as he picked one up and demonstrated how to properly put it on. Most of the class probably knew how to swim, so the vests really weren’t necessary, but he didn’t want to embarrass any non-swimmers by forcing them to wear a silly vest for the entire period. He figured it was better to have the entire class suffer than just one or two people.
“If anyone does fall in,” he said pausing to make sure he had everyone’s attention, “do not, and I can’t stress this enough DO NOT thrash about. Even though these are only juvenile Sea Serpents, and none have ever been known to hurt a human, we don’t want them to mistake you for one of the fish,” he said in the most serious tone he could manage. Even so, he knew a bite from a juvenile Sea Serpent wouldn’t be that bad, at worst a little blood would be drawn, and once the creature figured out the student wasn’t a fish it would move along. Juveniles were already weak as it was, and at 30 feet long, they really weren’t much more than newborns.
“After you put on a life jacket, proceed to the boats. Please, one pair to a boat.” Although they could have squished 4 people in each if they tried, he wanted his students to have enough room to see both sides of the boat so they wouldn’t miss out on any of the excitement. Inside their boats they would also find spare worksheets along with a seasickness antidote. With a class of teenagers on the open sea one could never be too prepared. “The boats are charmed so all you need to do is get in and the boat will take you to the spot,” Richard said as he ushered the students to begin.
OOC: Feel free to power-play the Sea Serpents; just make sure to keep it realistic. As usual, creative, realistic posts are worth more points. If Richard is needed, please tag Professor Tallec in the subject line. Posting rules apply. Please add house after name. Have fun!
Subthreads: Out on the big blue wet thing by Clark Dill
If I must... by Portia Dobson, Teppenpaw
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Professor Tallec
Sea Serpent Watching in Room 1 [Intermediates]
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Clark Dill
February 20, 2015 10:18 AM
Out on the big blue wet thing by Clark Dill
Care of Magical Creatures was, in some ways, the most challenging class Clark was taking. Admittedly, it was transfiguration that occupied most of his study time and was easily the hardest class to wrap his head around the complex magical theories there, but once you got Transfiguration, you got Transfiguration. Care of Magical Creatures on the other hand was not nearly so consistent or reliable, with rules that held true for some creatures but not others and certain situations made what was true under normal circumstances not only false but also dangerous...It was, in short, not the kind of hard science Clark was well trained to learn.
Taking care of animals - magical or otherwise - was not just about facts and knowledge. There would always be an unpredictable element to wild animals, and no amount of study in the library would change that. The discipline required an instinct and a talent that could be trained but not memorized or researched.
It was an instinct and talent Clark had, but not in copious quantities. He could get through lessons without making the creatures react violently to his mere presence - which, according to his father, was better than some people ever achieved - but he was by no means an animal whisperer. He still had more than two years to figure it out, but if he was going to drop any class after his CATS, he thought CoMC stood the highest likelihood of getting dropped.
Though if Oliver dropped it, Clark might keep it just for the opportunity to attend a class his roommate wasn't taking. But again he was still only a third year, barely into his intermediate career, so he had lots of time yet before any final decisions had to be made.
The most pressing decision right now was who he should get into a tiny boat with. Professor Tallec said the contraptions were untippable, but he was also making everyone wear life vests and giving dire warnings about what not to do if you found yourself sharing the sea with the serpents, so Clark wasn't putting a whole lot of faith in that claim.
He could swim, more or less. Well, he could tred water and doggy paddle for a little while to keep from drowning, but he had zero confidence he could make it all the way back to shore if two of the serpents decided to play ball with his boat while out in the middle of the MARS sea and he got thrown into the drink. So he was quite conscientious while fastening the straps of his life vest, and he looked around for a boat partner who didn't seem the type who would think it funny to either rock the boat or dump him overboard.
Spotting a candidate he judged met these criteria, he asked, "Need a partner?"
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Out on the big blue wet thing
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Portia Dobson, Teppenpaw
March 01, 2015 9:30 AM
If I must... by Portia Dobson, Teppenpaw
Portia had been less than thrilled to find out she'd have to wear clothing that she didn't mind getting wet or dirty to class today. She didn't have that kind of clothing. Anything that old and out of style would have been given away to charity already. All the Teppenpaw had now was good stuff.So she just wore her school robes, for once removing her prefect badge. Though it might have meant more if she wasn't the only one in her year and house, as Oliver sullenly pointed out. Still, Portia firmly believed that, given what the other options had been, she would have gotten it anyway. Furthermore, she was certain that her cousin would never possess the badge unless he somehow ended up the only one. The Teppenpaw had to admit, she loved having that shiny gold badge on her robes, mocking Oliver in every class. Not that she usually wanted people to feel bad, but when it came to her cousin, it was a different story.
Care of Magical Creatures was sort of a mixed bag for her in general. Portia did like animals, but not all of them. Still, she had to pick a third class to take after her CATS. Nora, of course, had taken pretty much everything, except COMC, taking an independent study in psychology instead but none of that was for Portia. She'd never been as interested in academics as her sister. Few were.
Despite that though, she was not, as some people probably thought, stupid , even if Nora always had been characterized as the smart one and herself the princess. It was quite obvious between the mention of getting wet, the location of the lesson and most of all, the sheet given on sea serpents, that the lesson probably was going to be precisely what it was. Observing them.
She wasn't bothered by that or by boating. Portia sort of liked boating , so long as she did the proper precautions to keep her hair looking good or it wasn't too windy in the first place. Some of the clothing meant for it was so cute! That was, however, not the case today. While her hair looked great as usual, she was there in her school robes-not that she didn't usually wear them to class-and no jewelry. And Portia felt rather...naked without jewelry. Not that she was able to typically wear her very best stuff for class but still, she'd have something .
To make matter worse, they had to wear these awful orange life vests! It was all she could do to keep her mouth from widening in horror at the ugly things. Reluctantly, she took one and put it on, consoling herself with the fact that she wouldn't be the only one, and that Oliver, in particular, had to wear one too. The two of them might not like each other at all, but one thing they did have in common was their desire to look good and even though she wouldn't, neither would he. Almost satisfying, that.
Portia turned to the classmate who was next to her. "Would you like to work together?" She asked.
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If I must...
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