Professor Light
January 21, 2012 11:04 PM
Tomb Raider Training {I&II} by Professor Light
Ants in his room. Caesar stared wide eyed at them, watching them march in a uniform line across his desk, his hand clutching his wand hard, the urge to blast fire at them very very strong. One of them seemed to stray toward him out of the line and Caesar leaned back in his chair, the front legs tilting up as he kept balanced on the hind legs, his hazel eyes wild with both fear and rage retained from boyhood. It had been a favorite pastime; his belly and chin buried in the sweet smelling grass, the San Francisco sun massaging his bared skin, a shard of glass from a broken bottle gripped in his hand as he extended it over an ant hill, watching with innocent wonder as the sun which was so sweetly massaging him also was converted into carnal fire, bearing down not quite as sweetly upon the ants. He could still smell the char, the burnt bodies and little legs spasm.Now, always, they were out for revenge.
Caesar finally gave up his chair, stumbling out of it, bequeathing his desk for now to the little angry red soldiers. He tried to tell himself that they were lured to his room because he’d failed to be inspired to clean up the Charms classroom after the last Beginners class met (last week was devoted to understanding different levels of fire, ending on Friday with them being able to eat s’mores if they casted the correct amount of fire for the provided marshmallows themselves) but he couldn’t fool himself. He knew they were stalking him. ‘Maybe just one more class on fire.’ He had a vision of his own army of fire wielding eleven and twelve year olds attacking enemy ants, but decided to delay the war after he got his already planned lesson out of the way. Out of a small drawer he pulled out a large stack of papers just as the door to the classroom swung open.
“Afternoon, class.” He greeted the children as they began to file in. “Take your seats.” Over the break the classroom had become more personalized; posters of various winking wizard bands, his favorite Italian Quidditch players, his favorite magical philosopher Dalia Torrez, the walls were lined with shelves and shelves of books (from textbooks to novels, all related to Charms) and magical objects like remembralls and omnioculars as well as stocked with small dishes of candy. The seating had been transformed as well. Instead of desks the classroom was designed like a seminar, with two separate sets of stairs on each aisle of benched wooden seats.
“This is my favorite comedy,” Caesar sent the excerpted scripts through the air to his students as they began to take their seats, the copies of the play all entitled Corazón de Plata. “Silver Heart. It takes place in Old San Juan, right after the Goblin wars that had plagued the West Indies and Carribean in 1893. Three beings; a Duende - that’s the spanish word for Goblin - named Bolsatira, a Centauro - Centaur - named Perez, and a Mago - Wizard - named Rico. Bolsatira, Perez, and Rico all are searching for the gold lost during the Duende Wars.” Finished handing the plays out, Caesar held up his own copy, hazel eyes bright with enthusiasm. “Now, the play is brilliant because, well, the trouble they all get into is just hilarious. This is also a revolutionary moment in theater history and history of Western Society because of the message that Garcia - the playwright - puts out. Just look at the picture.”
The cover of the play showed the silver letters of the title Corazón de Plata dripping silver visages of a goblin, centaur, and wizard all kneeling at the bottom of the page, leaning into the hue of shining gold. “Garcia was making the point that all beings are united by their greed, and that wizards should just embrace that unity to have a world where pointless wars like the Duende could be avoided. It’s about as popular a theory today as it was in 1963 when it was first written and performed - not very. But, it did help push the issue of future magical creature/wizardry alliance.”
Though Sonora was an excellent school, and he was grateful to be there (considering he was just fresh out of his Charms apprenticeship), Caesar disliked the fact that there were no History of Magic classes, and neither was there Theater. Not even many clubs, though at least they had Quidditch for some. The school seemed more academically inclined than creative, even if the students individually expressed themselves creatively. He’d heard there used to be History and was hoping soon someone would apply for the job, but until then tried to get as much history and culture into his lessons. Charms was fluid; it overlapped with the other branches of magics, and could be stretched to cover other branches of the wizarding world. It’s why Caesar liked it so much. He liked the freedom to go anywhere.
“In this play there is a scene in Act 4, Scene 2,” Caesar waited for the students to flip toward the page. “when Rico finds a chest of what he thinks contains the gold they’re all looking for. Garcia casted an actor in the play’s original run whom could actually perform the advanced charm to unlock the chest Garcia had inherited in the playwright’s travels. The spell, Aperi Rumpivi is a more advanced form of the spell Alohomora which the first years are going to learn today. Alohomora can unlock most objects and doors when the obstacle is locked with Colloportus, the spell the second years will be learning today.” Caesar flicked his wand and a sign up sheet raised in the air to settle against the wall, a floating open ink bottle and quill accompanying it. “It takes three years for the average wizard to master Aperi Rumpivi as it causes a terrible strain, but if any of you are interested in learning the groundwork for more advanced charms such as that one, I will be offering private sessions outside of class. You just have to sign up to let me know that you’re interested.”
Caesar swept his wand through the air and sizable treasure chests of various appearance appeared in front of all of the students’ desks. “Some of these chests are opened, some of them sealed shut. I want the first years to go around opening whichever sealed chests they choose, and the second years to close them.” There was enough space in each leveled row for students to comfortably walk without forcing others to stand to make room. “First years, pay attention.” Caesar walked up to a first row student’s treasure chest covered in seaweed and an ancient Germanic crest he could barely make out. He made a backwards S shaped motion with his wand before tapping the tip against the lock. “A-LUH-huh-MOR-a!” He exaggerated the sounds and a flash of pale blue light emitted from his wand point. There was a click and the chest opened. “You’ll find little trinkets like trading cards or candy each time you open the chests.” He peered inside the chest. “And apparently tuna fish sandwiches.”
“Now to close the chests, second years, you go” Caesar made a rough P like motion with his wand before tapping hard against the lock of the trunk. “Cul-loh-POR-tus!” A yellow light, a click and the chest was shut. “Alright, if there are any questions, just ask. Begin!” He made his way to his desk before remembering the stupid ants were still there. Angry and vengeful and he just knew something bad would happen if he dare smite them himself. He dragged his chair to one of the poster clad walls, glancing up at a picture of him and his sister Ava Marie who were both grinning down at him before he relaxed in his seat and watched his students make a go of it. He tried to judge by their performances which would be the ones that might be interested in signing up. ‘Not that one,’ He bit back a laugh at one so far unlucky student. ‘Aw, keep trying. You’ll get it.’ He kept up an internal part mocking, part encouraging commentary as the lesson continued on.
Subthreads: I didn't know tombs had candy by Waverly Canterbury with Sullivan Quincy, Waverly
In need of a first year, apparently by Linus Macaulay with Alicia Bauer, Aladren, Linus
Yeah, I'll try to apply the spell in a more practical way. by Nora Dobson with Cepheus Princeton, Cepheus
This is a good skill set by Jhonice Trevear, Pecari with Jorge Garcia (Pecari)
Somehow I don't think I'll ever be doing that. by Valerie Lennox with Theresa Carey, Pecari
Shouldn't that involve more deadly curses? by Alexandra Devereux, Crotalus
Do we have to fight mummies? by Evan Brockert, Aladren
I have questions. by Thad Pierce, Aladren with Professor Light, Thad Pierce
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Professor Light
Tomb Raider Training {I&II}
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Professor Light
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Valerie Lennox
January 30, 2012 6:39 PM
Somehow I don't think I'll ever be doing that. by Valerie Lennox
As she often did, Valerie felt quite tired and run down. She didn't quite feel sick yet but she definitely thought that she was coming down with something given that she'd woken up coughing that morning. Valerie wanted it to be nothing, she really did, but it was never nothing. Since she'd come back to school,the second year had already had a cold and taken quite a few doses of Pepper-up Potion, which she didn't like very much as it made steam come out of her ears.So, Valerie entered the Charms room warily and sat down. She never quite knew what to expect from lessons. What if it was a class that required her to exert herself physically? The Crotalus didn't quite feel capable of that,ever. Not even when she wasn't completely incapacitated. It was still not a good idea for her to wear herself down further. Valerie understood the necessity of being able to actually do a spell but there had to be some way to demonstrate and practice that without risking her health.
Valerie did not want to ask for any more special treatment that would single her out among her peers. She didn't want them to think that she was spoiled and whiny but the Crotalus honestly couldn't do things the same way a lot of times. She couldn't go running around the classroom, risking potential injury to herself. The tiniest cut could get infected, which was why Valerie had not ever been allowed to run about and play as other children could. Not that it was very ladylike to do so anyway.
She took the play that had been handed out. Valerie read a lot, as there wasn't much else one could do being stuck in bed so much but this was not a play she'd ever heard of. When Professor Light explained the premise, the Crotalus understood why. It was not something that her parents would have approved of in general, especially not for a young lady. Literature for young ladies her age-especially ones whose parents didn't want them to get stressed or excited-tended to be a bit on the lighter side. Boys probably tended to read more things involving adventures
That aspect of the play worried Valerie. She knew that this part of the lesson probably had some bearing on what they would be doing today. That this was just an intro. What if they had to do something that involved exploring and obstacles? Valerie had little problem with spells themselves, though sometimes, when she worked on the harder ones too much, she'd tire herself out but she didn't know if she could handle any sort of rigorous activity. In fact,she knew quite the opposite.
Valerie breathed a sigh of relief when she found out that all she was going to have to do was simply lock treasure chests after whichever first year she partnered with unlocked them. Nothing too exhausting. Nothing dangerous. It was all going to be okay for this lesson at least.
She started to stand up when she began to cough. When it had abated, Valerie was going to go looking for a first year but it seemed there was already someone standing next to her...
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Valerie Lennox
Somehow I don't think I'll ever be doing that.
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Valerie Lennox
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Theresa Carey, Pecari
January 30, 2012 10:04 PM
I'm going to be too busy managing my future husband's career by Theresa Carey, Pecari
Theresa still wasn’t sure what she thought of the changes to the Charms classroom – the sheer amount of things going on around the walls didn’t bother her so much, since it reminded her a bit of their schoolroom at home, but the Quidditch players somehow seemed a little inappropriate – so she simply didn’t look at them too much as, Professor Light smiled at and greeted, she took a seat. The seats were a feature of the new decorating scheme that she really didn’t like, but complaining about it didn’t seem likely to change anything.She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow when they got the scripts, though, and the professor went on to provide a short recap of the plot of the play. Such a peculiar thing! She wasn’t surprised it was unpopular, because the theory its writer was behind was ridiculous. Everyone knew the goblins were going to rebel every now and then, they were just like Dark wizards who got enough of a following to start a war in that way. In some places, ‘every now and then’ was once or twice a century, in luckier ones it was every few centuries, but sooner or later, it was inevitable, even the amount of history she’d both been given and absorbed, neither of which was as much as they might have been, clearly showed them that. There was little point in holding a position which was ultimately doomed to be proven false, which was why Theresa never intended to follow any Dark wizards. They never won in the end, did they?
She wondered, if they got to keep the scripts, if she should show it to Arthur. He would be amused, she knew, but she might have to listen to a long, academically-worded and -toned lecture on something related to the subject, whether her cousin actually knew anything about it or not. That could be tedious.
For now, she used it as a fan as she stood to confront a locked trunk, her hand absently turning it back and forth even though it wasn’t really hot. She squinted at the trunk a little, thinking of how awful her life was going to be once her siblings were old enough to start learning this spell. She was already a source of envy for not having to share any of her living space with someone else, and Merlin only knew what Brandon and Diana would do once they got in to satisfy their curiosity but then got distracted by something else….
The thought of her siblings improving with age was not one Theresa gave much consideration to. One day, she would be an adult, and maybe Jay would, too, but the others just would not, or so it seemed to her.
She was distracted from such thoughts, though, by the sound of coughing nearby. Looking around, she found the source and automatically went over. She recognized the other girl, one of the Crotali, one of the second years – the one who was sick all the time, which made her coughing seem like cause for concern. “Are you all right, Miss Lennox?” she asked as Valerie’s fit seemed to subside a little.
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Theresa Carey, Pecari
I'm going to be too busy managing my future husband's career
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Theresa Carey, Pecari
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Valerie
February 05, 2012 8:45 PM
I hope I'll be able to do that by Valerie
"Oh, yes, thank you, Miss Carey." Valerie replied. She appreciated the younger girl's concern. At home, her parents and sister and everyone fussed over her. Valerie didn't really expect things to be like that here anyway and was basically all right with that. In fact, she usually tried not to draw attention to herself lest it bring negative attention or scare others away from her.It didn't make her feel any less alone though. Sometimes, she just wanted a friend. It was so hard to do so when Valerie had to miss class so much though. Even illness aside, the Crotalus didn't really feel she had much in common with the other second year girls. She liked her roommates well enough, but Brianna and Attoria were already best friends and Valerie felt like a third wheel. Plus, she was kind of afraid that they would catch something from her or that she'd irritate them with her constant coughing.
At least next year Melanie would be here with her. The Crotalus couldn't wait. Still, Valerie wanted her sister to make friends of her own. Not be lonely like she was.
Sometimes getting attention was unavoidable as well. Like when Valerie was sick during class and others had to leave, drop what they were doing and take her to Hospital Wing. The Crotalus felt awful about that but she had to admit she genuinely could not always do things on her own. Such as make it to see the medic by herself when she was that sick.
That was not the case right now. Surely she was coming down with something, a cough was never nothing for her but Valerie didn't feel like it was bad enough that she had to leave class right now. She was coughing quite a bit, she had been all day but she didn't have a fever or anything. Though certainly Valerie was going to go the Hospital Wing and get checked out before it got too bad and she had to be a burden to someone. Perhaps she'd also ask to be excused from more the more strenuous lessons too. Valerie didn't want to be a whiny baby, but those were taking their toll on her. She would gladly do any sort of alternative book work that her professors could come up with.
For now though, she turned to Theresa. "Would you like to work together?" Valerie asked. The first year seemed kind to her because she'd asked if Valerie was okay and she was definitely someone that Crotalus's parents would approve of.
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Valerie
I hope I'll be able to do that
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Valerie
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Theresa
February 07, 2012 9:46 PM
I just hope I'm more successful than my mother by Theresa
Theresa was somewhat doubtful about Miss Lennox’s claim that she was well, but realized, with a little start of surprise even after half a year of this, that she was in no position to do anything about it, so she let it go. Maybe the other girl had just breathed the wrong way, or gotten into some dust, and that was all that was wrong with her.She hoped so, and not only for Valerie’s sake. She wasn’t worried about catching something, that wasn’t it, but something about the second year’s apparent and public fragility made her just the tiniest bit uneasy. Her parents were not favorites of their families, nor exemplars of what they wanted members to be, but they both came from families which valued toughness and hiding anything that didn't live up to that ideal, if in different ways, and since she herself had only once in her life been absolutely too sick to make herself do what she wanted or needed to do for a while, it was impossible for her to understand Miss Lennox’s position.
Plus, it was just a shame. She was a pretty enough girl, a quiet enough girl, a nice Crotalus girl and a pureblood girl, but this girl, Theresa was sure, would never marry. Not unless she underwent a drastic improvement. And when a girl could only, no matter how unfair it might seem sometimes, really get ahead, or even stay where she was, through her husband, not having one seemed likely to be even worse than having one.
She nodded when Miss Lennox asked her to work together, though. “Certainly," she said, then looked for and spotted an unattended trunk. “Here we go.” She pointed her wand at it, picturing it opening up for her, just the way she wanted it to. “Alohomora!”
There was a little bang, which she didn’t think was supposed to happen at this stage, the trunk rocked back and forth, and then the lid lifted for a second before it fell back. “I think it unlocked,” she said, unperturbed, and reached for the lid, adding a “Ha” as it came up again. She felt some resistance, but that might have just been its natural weight; she was not short, but she was small for her height.
“It looks like chocolates,” she reported, looking over what it contained with the eye of a connoisseur – some of the tutors used candy as a means of bribery or reward – when she got it opened and looked in. “Maybe those are caramels…hm, and there’s some of those strawberry candies Henry likes.” She liked them, too, but not as much as Henry, so he usually got more of them. She tried not to mind, and almost always succeeded, now. Mother said it was wrong to mind that kind of thing. “Do you want any?”
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Theresa
I just hope I'm more successful than my mother
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Theresa
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Valerie
February 16, 2012 5:26 AM
That would be nice. by Valerie
Valerie felt relieved when the younger girl agreed to work with her. People were rarely turned down offers to work together, she'd noted and it seemed to be her best chance for social interaction. Especially given that, despite all of the paranoia and anxiety the misleading initial lecture had caused, that this was a lesson Valerie felt capable of completing. She didn't have to worry about hindering Miss Carey, too much. The Crotalus spent most of her free time practicing spells, though she'd have rather spent it with friends sometimes.But then, she would have to have friends in the first place. Maybe Brianna and Attoria were her friends and maybe Michael was but Valerie wasn't quite sure. She was afraid that her frailty would scare people away and nobody would want to be friends with her. Like they wouldn't think she was any fun because she couldn't do very much so any of the more boisterous students were out. It wasn't so much that she disliked them, Valerie was merely certain that they wouldn't like her.
Not that, she realized, she would have much in common with such people even had she not been sick. Valerie was supposed to be a real proper pureblood lady and therefore, would inherently be more comfortable with same. It wasn't a matter of snobbiness or anything personal against others, it was just that people tended to gravitate towards others that were more like them.
Which still severely limited Valerie's social circle. There only seemed to be three other girls in the second year class who were Proper Ladies that her mother would approve of and one of them was some distant cousin of hers, Nora. Brianna didn't fit exactly either but Valerie really liked her roommate and wanted to be friends with her anyway. Same with Michael, who fit the qualifications of what her mother approved of even less than Brianna did. But like the other Crotalus, Valerie thought the Teppenpaw was extremely kind as well.
It didn't matter, she just wanted friends. Sometimes she was so lonely that it hurt. Like now. Though more likely that was the beginnings of some illness. Valerie could feel a discomfort in her chest. She was extremely tired as well. After this class, the Crotalus was going to take a nap. She would have to go to the medic soon too.
Valerie gave a cough as she followed Miss Carey to the chest. "Oh, no thanks." The second year replied. She wasn't supposed to have sweets. She was only allowed to have healthy food, not just because of her medical condition, but because pureblood girls were supposed to watch their weight. Somehow, Valerie had never had much to worry about in that area. She rarely had much appetite.
"Is Henry your brother?" The Crotalus asked, curiously. She felt it was as good a way as any to start a conversation with Theresa. Maybe that would lead them to be on good terms, if they got to know each other, even if they didn't end up being close friends. Maybe Valerie would feel less lonely then.
OOC-Sorry for taking so long.
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Valerie
That would be nice.
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Valerie
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Theresa
February 16, 2012 11:33 PM
Is your mother successful? by Theresa
Theresa considered for a moment the possibility that Miss Lennox was lying about wanting some of the candy, but by that point, she’d already popped one of the strawberry ones into her mouth. Thinking around what people said wasn’t one of the things she did well; once, annoyed with her about something, she didn’t even remember what, Arthur had told her she was the most straightforward simpleton he’d ever met, up to and including Arnold. She tended to assume people meant what they said when they made direct statements – not the vague kind Arthur was so fond of, but straight answers, yeses and nos. She was not a mind reader and had no interest in becoming one.Still, there was plenty of candy left, so she made the gesture. “These might help your throat,” she said, since Miss Lennox was coughing again. Peppermints and actual cough drops were, she thought, usually the best for that, but these would do if Miss Lennox wanted, she supposed. Besides, the girl could use some energy. She just looked tired.
Mentioning Henry wasn’t even something she realized she had done until she was asked about it, but except for a slight flush, she thought she hid her embarrassment about assuming that everyone would just somehow automatically know what she was talking about well. “Yes, he is,” she said. “He’s my second brother. I’ve got two more besides him, and two sisters.” She smiled, aware that though her immediate family size was neither usual nor unusual in her extended family – her uncle only had three children, Aunt Emma just two, but her father had four siblings, and his father had, too, and the Fourth was one of six, just like her – it was pretty big by most standards, especially for all six of them to have been born in only twelve years. “My parents’ way of being good Careys,” she explained.
Everyone, after all, had to have something, even if it did cause problems in other areas, such as maintaining the appearance of wealth for them all. At least they had slowed down finally. She might have another two siblings if Luck wasn’t on her side in that matter, but she was sure she would not be more than the eldest of eight when it was all said and done. Eight was an acceptable number – seven was better, but eight could do – but nine was definitely not. She could just imagine the looks she would get from people if, once she was married and working on her husband's life, she was asked about siblings and had to admit she was the eldest of nine. Her parents would look very strange before anyone even met them.
“Do you have siblings?” she asked, though she knew the answer. Arthur had seen fit to tell her, somewhere between Miss Lennox being in her classes and Miss Lennox having a sister Jay's age. It was polite, though, to let people decide what to say about themselves. She knew that much about it all, anyway, even if she was apparently well on her way to being the latest shame of the House of Carey.
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Theresa
Is your mother successful?
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Theresa
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