Professor Kijewski
September 18, 2007 7:02 PM
Lesson 1 for First and Second Years by Professor Kijewski
Kiva finished cleaning off the area with a sweep of her wand. Usually she did the cleaning the muggle way, but since the beginning of the school year things had been a bit hectic and Kiva had a lot to catch up on. Which meant, she was later coming to the clearing as usual and didn't have time to do the normal clearing out the space with a regular old broom. She conjured up a table and set the cat carrier down.Almost immediately after, the students began to make an appearance. The first years always seemed a bit wary of this class (especially the muggleborns), so Kiva tried to make a good impression by giving them a fun and inviting lesson. Although, the last time she had introduced this creature, a giant dust storm had hit. Kiva hoped this creature didn't bring on another one four years later. “Good morning.” She greeted them with a smile, standing in front of the cat carrier so that those closest to her couldn't give away the creature she was to be teaching that day.
As it was the first lesson with the first years, Kiva decided to look more business casual than she normally would have. She sported burgundy cordoroids with black flats and a polo shirt. She was void of robes because it made her job easier that way. Her brown hair was longer than normal, having no time to really do much for it, so she clipped it back and out of her face. She couldn’t wait until she no longer needed to make a first impression so that she could return to her normal look of capris and sandals.
Once everyone was settled into the grass or chose to stand around, Kiva began, “For those of you who do not know, I am Professor Kijewski. Most call me Professor K. If you ever need me, my office is near the library, but I'm usually out here with my creatures.” Kiva explained. The school was rather large despite the small class sizes and Kiva was only all too familiar with how difficult it could sometimes be trying to locate someone in a hurry. “Alright, I'm going to explain some of the rules for my class. These are important, so I expect you to adhere to them." Kiva glanced out at the students, her face pleasant, but firm with her words.
"There will be no talking when I give directions. These animals do have the capabilities to be dangerous and I may give you advise on how to avoid getting hurt. If you're talking, well, the consequences are your own. There will be no talking when someone is else is addressing the class, whether that be for asking a question or giving a report." Kiva's gaze landed on a couple of students whispering and a frown appeared on her young face. "I expect everyone to do the work I assign. Especially if you plan on passing any future exams, not excluding C.A.T.S. and R.A.T.S. Aside from all that, you may discard your robes and talk amongst yourselves while in groups." Kiva finally smiled at them. "I'm not an evil teacher. I believe learning should be fun, but in order to learn, you have to listen. So, we'll do lectures in the beginning and then move onto group work so that you can all relax a bit."
Finally deciding it was time to actually get on with the lesson, Kiva clasped her hands together and stood up straighter. “Today we will be studying these,” Kiva opened the carrier and gently pulled out what looked to be a cat, except that it had spotted fur, rather large ears, and a lion’s tail. “Everyone please pull out some parchement in ink so that you may all take some proper notes.” Kiva told her class before continuing on with the lesson.
“This is a Kneazle. Kneazles are very intelligent creatures who can detect suspicious or unsavory persons very well and will react badly to them. Which means, trust a kneazles instincts. However, if a kneazle were to take a liking to a witch or wizard, it makes for an excellent pet.” Kiva placed the kneazle on the ground directly in front of her. “As you can see, a kneazle looks much like a regular house cat, with only a few minor details. Come have a look, feel free to pet her, she’s well-trained. Now, as you examine her, can anyone tell me the differences between a kneazle and a cat?”
OOC: Okay, you all know the drill. Three paragraphs per post, 3 to 5 sentences to each paragraph. Use as much detail as you can and have lots of fun with the kneazle.
Subthreads: How cute! by Lucie Dupree with Ronen Cooper
There may yet be hope for the school by Holly Greer with Cecily Smythe, Cecily
Here kittie, kittie, kittie by Talitha Cumni with Irene Liddowe, Talitha
No robes? by Talen Dupree with Laurie Cider, Talen
A Kasneezle? by Rilla White with Thomas Fitzgerald
*is picturing Garfield* by Rorrie Hudson with Josh Warren, Rorrie
Partner? by Renaye Warren with Oliver Abbott, Raye, Renaye
Daydreaming (WotW) by Zane Cooper
Kitty! by Hyana Kamiya with Lydia Krotchet, Hyana
Not a favorite of mine... by Chelsea Brockert
I Have One of Those by Anabel McIntosh
CLASS CLOSED (nm) by Professor K
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Professor Kijewski
Lesson 1 for First and Second Years
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Professor Kijewski
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Renaye Warren
September 22, 2007 12:51 PM
Partner? by Renaye Warren
As Renaye got to the CoMC class she turned and told Josh she wanted to do her own thing. Which she did. They may be twins, but they weren't Siamese. He didn't seem to care and she knew he didn't. Maybe he just hadn't heard. He had been looking over at the Andy-girl from the feast. She resisted the urge to ruffle his hair and say loudly, "Aww! Joshie had a girlfriend!". But no. That would be mean. Funny. But only for her. Poor Josh would probably evaporate. Instead, Renaye took a seat at a random spot of grass.Their Professor was holding a cat with huge ears. Poor guy. The other cats probably made fun of him for his poor giant ears... Raye took notes about the Kneazle (oh yeah... That's what those were called!). Professor K asked them, Now, as you examine her, can anyone tell me the differences between a kneazle and a cat?”
They were also allowed to go and pet the ca--neazle. She stood up and made her way to the place where the Kneazle sat.
"Their ears look bigger than a cat's. And the tail is a little different too." Not the most refined answer, admitedly, but she did answer. She turned to go back to her seat, but in doing so, smacked right into the person behind her. She yelped in surprise and a little bit of pain.
"So sorry!" She said, her hand over the spot on her head where she had hit the person. "Are you okay?"
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Renaye Warren
Partner?
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Renaye Warren
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Oliver Abbott
September 22, 2007 2:08 PM
Yeah, if you promise not to knock me out by Oliver Abbott
Care of magical creatures was by far Oliver’s worst lesson. First off he usually couldn’t care less about the creatures they studied. It wasn’t that he liked animals – in fact, Oliver would say he found magical creatures fascinating – it was just that the classes so far had been about really lame animals. The puffskeins were sort of sweet in a too-fluffy kind of way, but what use were they? They didn’t even do anything cool. The unicorns had been slightly more interesting, but Oliver had been told not to participate in that lesson because it was for girls only. So basically the first years hadn’t studied anything even vaguely interesting.The second issue was that the class was held outside. Although Oliver enjoyed the outdoors, his skin did not. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the professor made them wear robes, but of course she always said they could take them off. That meant that not only did Oliver had to stand out in his stupid sunhat and tinted glasses, but he had to wear a long-sleeved shirt under his robes the whole day, too. The weather at Sonora was always warm (he’s learned this was because of an assortment of charms placed around the school) and so Oliver usually got too hot in his uniform in the rest of the classes each day he had CoMC. It was frustrating.
This led to Oliver not being in an especially good mood for the start of the lesson, and it didn’t improve much when he learned they would be studying what was basically a cat. Nevertheless, he took a seat near the front (or by the professor, anyway, seeing as the ‘front’ was a little hard to determine in an outdoor lesson) and dutifully made notes on the kneazle. He was just attempting a sketch of the animal when several more students started to crowd round, blocking it from Oliver’s view. Sighing in frustration he stood up to get a better view, and his head collided rather sharply with something equally as solid, knocking his hat onto the floor.
He turned to glare at the person with whom he’d collided, even as they apologised. He recognised the face though, and quickly bit back the angry retort that would otherwise have been soon in coming. “No worries,” he muttered instead, raising his hand to rub the sore spot on his temple. He worked to try and put a name to the face. “It’s Renaye, right? I’m Oliver – we played Quidditch together over summer,” he said, in case she couldn’t remember him. There had been a lot of people there, after all. He reached down and picked up his green hat, and dusted it off before putting it back on, hiding his white blond hair once more.
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Oliver Abbott
Yeah, if you promise not to knock me out
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Oliver Abbott
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Raye
September 22, 2007 9:41 PM
I <i>guess</i> I can make an exception for you... by Raye
Renaye knew this boy looked familiar... Face, name? She looked at him, feeling like she knew him from Quidditch related things... Thank God she was saved the trouble when he said, “It’s Renaye, right? I’m Oliver – we played Quidditch together over summer,”That was it! She grinned back at him and said, "Oh yeah! Sorry about running into you. But, yeah, Quidditch was fun, huh?"
It must have been loads of fun for the others there. The Warrens and Irene, though, were a bit distacted. No one knew, of course, but whenever summer was brought up, all she could think about was how much she wanted to take a bat to Uncle Damon's face... Which was an emotion she would have to control. It was a good thing that guy lived in Kentucky.
"So what else did you do this summer? Anything death-defying?"
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Raye
I <i>guess</i> I can make an exception for you...
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Raye
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Oliver
September 24, 2007 12:40 PM
Great. I feel so special. by Oliver
Oliver guessed by the slightly delayed response that Renaye had, indeed, forgotten him. He tried not to be too abashed by not standing out in a crowd. He waved away her repeated apology, because, judging by how she was rubbing her head, too, she hadn’t mean to knock into him, and had even injured herself in the process. So no hard feelings. “Quidditch was fun, huh?” the first year said.“Yeah, it was cool,” Oliver agreed loosely, making an odd movement somewhere between nodding and shrugging.
“So what else did you do this summer? Anything death-defying?” asked Renaye.
Oliver looked at her with an amused expression, one eyebrow raised behind his black-rimmed glasses. How often did people spend their summer accomplishing death-defying feats? Really? “Um, no, nothing exciting,” he said in reply. “I hung out with my brother’s mates a bit, sports and stuff,” he shrugged. He’d had a fair number of music lessons, too, and talked to his sister a lot about magic, and been to visit his Uncle, but he didn’t mention any of these things. He guessed that she didn’t really care about his summer – he certainly didn’t care about hers – but it was the done thing to make polite conversation.
“You enjoying Sonora so far?” he asked instead, because he might actually care about what she said in response to that.
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Oliver
Great. I feel so special.
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Oliver
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Renaye
September 24, 2007 4:15 PM
Glad I could help! by Renaye
“Um, no, nothing exciting,” he said in reply. “I hung out with my brother’s mates a bit, sports and stuff,”Raye felt the same about her summer. She mostly hung out with Irene's friends. Actually, it sounded as if they had almost identical summers. Hanging with a relative's friends and playing sports. Well... There was that one thing with her Uncle, but no one talked about that, especially when Irene was around. Renaye had asked her about it after everyone had left but Irene had just gone into her room. Raye was really worried about her. Sure, Irene was though. She had grown up with Merlin-knows-what in Kentucky, so there was little someone could do to really shake her. But Irene got very... secluded for the rest of the summer. It wasn't until they were almost ready to head back to Sonora when she started cheering up. She still wasn't exactly in her head. She kept putting her hair in her face to hide the spot where that bruise had been. Renaye wasn't realy sure how to handle it...
Raye nodded. "Yeah," she said, "Pretty much the same for me too."
“You enjoying Sonora so far?”
"That," she said, "Is a good question. I'm not so sure... I have about six other roommates. I've only met four of them, but we're not exactly on good terms. They don't understand why I would want to play Quidditch." She rolled her green eyes. "It should be an interesting year..."
He probably didn't need to hear all that, but Raye had said it anyway. The more she said, the more likely a convorsation would keep going, right? More to build off.
"I may just go insane."
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Renaye
Glad I could help!
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Renaye
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Oliver
October 03, 2007 5:47 PM
... you weren't really helping by Oliver
It turns out that Oliver had been right; he was a little more interested in Renaye’s impressions of Sonora than how she’d occupied herself over the summer. He couldn’t sympathise with her about her vast number of roommates at all – Oliver had the dormitory all to himself, being the only boy in his year in Crotalus. He wondered whether that would make Renaye feel better about her own circumstances, and decided to tell her just in case.“You’re lucky to have someone to share a room with,” he said, “even if it is six scary Crotalus girls.” He knew from much experience that Crotalus girls, more often than not, were scary. “I have my room all to myself. No other boys in Crotalus in second year,” he said shrugging. “It’s cool to have my own room and stuff, but I wouldn’t mind someone to hang out with occasionally, you know?” That was probably the reason Oliver spent a lot of his time hanging around with a group of Pecaris he didn’t know very well or Lutece, who was obviously crazy. Talitha and Gwyneth were his only normal friends, but they were both girls, and both were certainly a little unusual themselves. Luckily, Oliver was quite accustomed to being an oddball.
“If you go insane you’ll fit right in with the rest of Crotalus,” Oliver replied, smirking a little. “Bunch of lunatics if ever I saw one.” Well maybe he was generalising a little from Lutece and that Gwen girl (who seemed quite normal really, but Jordanna had told Oliver that Gwen was crazy, and she was a prefect now, so he had no reason not to believe her), but Renaye, not having been at Sonora for very long, probably wouldn’t realise that.
“And don’t worry about the Quidditch,” he said, shrugging his shoulders but feeling very wise imparting advise, despite his breezy countenance. “The other girls will either come round or they won’t. Nothing you can say will change their minds.”
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Oliver
... you weren't really helping
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Oliver
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Renaye
October 28, 2007 1:54 AM
... oh. Does a 'Sorry' help? by Renaye
OOC: *headdesk* *a thousand apologies*“I have my room all to myself. No other boys in Crotalus in second year. It’s cool to have my own room and stuff, but I wouldn’t mind someone to hang out with occasionally, you know?”
Renaye nodded. She understood that. She knew people who were an only child. They loved being independent and having the extra bit of attention, but they wouldn't mind sharing a bit. Renaye's family was different though. Elaina and Josh may drive her to the brink of insanity, but she would never wish that she was an only child. She and Josh were closer than a lot of people that she knew. Laine, however annoying she may be at times, was a real sweetheart when she wanted to be. She was way to close to her family to even think about wishing they didn't exist.
"My brother, Josh," she pointed out the head of black hair talking to the girl from Cascade, "is in Crotalus too. He only had one roommate. They're both Quidditch fanatics and they seem to get along fantastically!"
Raye was happy for Josh, but couldn't help but be a little jealous... She had Laurie to room with, which was great, but she couldn't help but wish that the others got off to a better start. They had only argued over one subject. No matter how important the subject was to her, it was still only one thing. Maybe she could recconcile later...
“If you go insane you’ll fit right in with the rest of Crotalus,”
Renaye laughed. "Seems like it!" she said with a grin. "Everyone is so centered on blood and being proper! I couldn't stand living like that..." She said, thinking of a childhood without Quidditch. She wouldn't be the same person... and she probably wouldn't like it one bit.
“And don’t worry about the Quidditch. The other girls will either come round or they won’t. Nothing you can say will change their minds.”
Renaye thought about this for a moment. If someone came up to her and tried to change her mind about Quidditch, would she? Of course not. It was probably the same thing around for them. It would be impossible for her to change their minds. Her best hope was flying lessons. Her first time on a broom had hooked her to anything in the air and on a broom.
"That's true," she said. "I think it's sad that first years can't play... My brother and I were some killer beaters for our neighborhood travel team. We've grown up on Quidditch. Of course, with Karma being my best friend, first years can't try out the year we get here." She let out a sigh. "I miss my Beater's bat... That's what I do when I'm stressed. Or just for fun."
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Renaye
... oh. Does a 'Sorry' help?
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Renaye
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Oliver
October 29, 2007 12:56 PM
It helps a bit by Oliver
Oliver couldn’t help but grin in response to the firstie’s lament at not being able to play Quidditch. “Ah, first year will pass quickly enough,” he said, in what was probably a patronizing manner, but he wasn’t prepared to listen to whining girls who just wanted to hit bludgers to vent their frustration; there were already far too many of those at Sonora. “And you can spend the rest of your life aiming bludgers, so don’t worry about it,” he added.A small clearing had opened around the kneazle, and Oliver thought they probably couldn’t avoid going near the creature for the entire lesson. Getting it over with, he reached over and picked the kitty up off its box. It didn’t squirm much, which gave Oliver the impression it was used to being handled by unruly students such as himself. He passed the creature over to Renaye, in the hope that she’d want to hold and pet the kneazle like most of the other girls seem to have been doing.
“I suppose he’s not bad for a cat,” Oliver admitted, admiring the cool markings on the creature’s fur. He readjusted his glasses and sniffed a bit. “Not very interesting though, are they? I mean, what exciting stuff can you do with a kneazle?”
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Oliver
It helps a bit
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Oliver
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Renaye
November 04, 2007 2:07 PM
Okay, good. by Renaye
“Ah, first year will pass quickly enough. And you can spend the rest of your life aiming bludgers, so don’t worry about it,”Renaye shrugged. She guessed that was true, but that didn't stop her desire to clamber onto a broom, legal or not. "A year is still a very long time. You know when you have that urge to just go and play Quidditch? That's been going on since I started packing for this place and put my gloves into my trunk," she said with a small grin.
Oliver reached over and picked up the Kneazle. Renaye observed it for a moment, taking in it's large ears and funny-looking tail. Oliver didn't seem to interested, for he passed on the thing to her next. Raye wasn't much of a cat person, she preffered owls. Cats usually carried an attitude with them, a sort of "I think I'm so above you" air... She took the Kneazle and stroked its soft fur for a moment before putting it back on the ground.
“I suppose he’s not bad for a cat. Not very interesting though, are they? I mean, what exciting stuff can you do with a kneazle?”
"I know what you mean," she said. "But they are soft, I just wouldn't want to keep one... Owls are nice though. They're really helpful. I wish I could get one."
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Renaye
Okay, good.
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Renaye
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