Minerva jumped a foot when she heard Alexa yell. What the world was that girl thinking. Did she not here Minerva whispering for a reason. Did she not know what the forest was or what could possibly be in it. Looking dumbfounded at Alexa the only thing she could get out was "shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" At the moment. Looking around in a panic just waiting for something to be after them now, now that they were sitting ducks in a land of the unknown. Something was surely going to come for them no that the death wish was set....

Looking back at Alexa she shook her head, "Do you want the entire forest to know we are in here looking around? I wasn't meaning screaming for Pepper...I would rather not have more then a plant to be afraid of at the moment..." Yes, her words weren't showing bravery, but they were being truthful. Feeling herself on high alert, her eyes darted around. Well Alexa already yelled, hopefully Pepper heard her and would come from where ever she might be.

She flashed around to look at the Hufflepuff girl when she began to speak. Hmm. The girl seemed absolutely terrified but she couldn't understand why. It was just a forest. The most you'd see would probably be some foxes or dears or whatever else nature decided to throw into the mix. Gosh, what was the big deal? She knew it was a bit dark but that didn't mean the girl had to go all freaking out and stuff.

Yeah...no one ever bothered to tell her why the forest was forbidden. There were a lot of things no one bothered to tell her and she quite frankly wasn't interested to know because then she might have been less compelled to try sneaking in here in an attempt to work on her bravery and all.

"You're the one who said we should try calling Pepper. Do you think she'll come if we whisper?" She didn't like getting scolded for doing what she was told.

"And what more is there? Are you gonna run screaming if you see a rabbit hopping by? News flash--they don't eat people!!" They didn't eat anything but veggies the last she checked

Then she looked back to the rest of the forest. Pepper had to be around here somewhere...

Minerva walked closer to Alexa, "I know I did Alexa and I'm sorry that you miss took what I was meaning. I want to call for her but not let everything in this forest know we are here. Alexa there are things in this forest that could harm us in more ways then just a normal bear." She had the feeling Alexa knew a little about muggle animals. Especially just saying a bunny. "Muggle forest can be scary with bears and wolves, but here you add magical creatures and the danger is much worse."

Minerva looked around and sighed, "I don't think she is here anyway or she would have come to you calling. We have to find her.." Minerva began to walk further into the forest taking a deep breath and trying to look around the best she could with the light of her wand.

Theo had agility, you know. He was a quidditch player, who had flexible bones. So that gave him EVERY excuse to do roley-poleys and handstands through the WHOLE of the grounds. He wasn't even tired, and once he reached the forbidden forest, he stood back onto his feet and giggled. He really shouldn't but....

#YOLO

After skipping through the trees and bushes, Theodore was getting deeper and deeper into the forest, and once he was completely out of sight from the castle, he belly-flopped straight onto his stomach.

Ouch.... but.... he needed to spy.

Using his hands as binoculars, Theo was suspicious. "I can soooooooo totally see you over there, Mr. Bush-man." The bush was GLARING at him, so Theo GLARED right back. "You think you can fool me, huh? HUHH?!" What was that song of the fwooper done to him?

Oh maaaaan.

She, like, NEEDED to cartwheel okay?! Do you ever just...have an URGE to do something?! And you absolutely HAD to do it? YES WELL. She NEEDED to cartwheel, okay?! But she couldn't the perfect spot! And she couldn't just cartwheel anywhere! Blue ran down the hill from the building stopping and feeling the grass, trying to judge if this was a good spot to to her thaaang.

Nope.

Nope nope nope.

She shook her head, getting more and more annoyed now. She looked up, needing to get rid of all this frustration. How though? She needed to vent. Otherwise, she was about to lose it even though she already had. ASDFGHJKL. A tree! Perfect! Blue ran over and kicked it. Stupid tree. OWOWOWOW. Her foot! THE TREE DID THIS! GRR. Right. It wanted a fight, she could fight. The Ravenclaw rolled up her sleeves, getting ready to punch the damn thing when she heard something in the forest.

What the...?

Someone ELSE fighting a tree? Deciding to investigate, she marched into the forest, every so often giving her new nemesis a glare of her shoulder...when she saw it. THE PERFECT PLACE TO CARTWHEEL, OMG. Except someone was in the way. -.- So she ran over and gave them a shove. "OUTTA THE WAY. CARTWHEELING HERE!"

AND THEN SHE CARTWHEELED.

WHEEEEEEEEEE!

Feeling as if the trees and bushes were closing in on him, Theo did a sort of army roll, still with his hand-binoculars in place. "Aha! Tree peasant!" PEASANT OF THE TREE FOLK. And with that golden insult, Theodore was in hysterical laughter, to a point where his stomach was starting to cramp. But.... what was THAT?

A person had emerged from absolutely NOWHERE.

It must have been....

O______________________o

"BUSH-MAN! DID YOU JUST POLYJUICE POTION YOURSELF INTO MY BEST FRIEND?" More importantly, did the bush-man just shove him out of the way just to do some mere cartwheels? Theodore jumped up to his feet and did a KARATE kick through the air. "YOU PICKED ON THE WRONG DRAGON-SLAYER TODAY." That's right, he slayed dragons and stuff. En guard!

Wanna piece of Theodore Kinsley?

Bring it. Yeah. Bring it ON.

He didn't even care if bush-man had Blue's face as a mask. He was NOT falling for that.

CARTWHEELS ARE AWESOME DUDE.

BUT WAIT.

WHAT THE FUDGE.

She was just cartwheeling here, minding her own business and now Theo was karate kicking her?! WHAT DID SHE DO?!? "HEY! YOU FORGOT THE SOUND EFFECTS, NITWIT. YOU HAVE TO GO HEE-YA! WHEN YOU KARATE KICK SOMEONE! AND I'M CARTWHEELING HERE!" She was so angry now! Oh so very angry. GRRRRR. She went up to another tree picked up a branch that had fallen down, went back to her best friend and poked his stomach.

"THAT'LL TEACH YOU FOR NOT DOING KARATE RIGHT!"

In your face Theo!

Now if you excuse her! She went back to her stop and flopped down onto the forest floor. SHE WANTED TO SMELL THE LEAVES. So pretty! She rolled over onto her back and started doing leaf-angels.

GIGGLE.

Then she bounced back up, grabbed a handful of leaves and THROUGH THEM INTO THE AIR.

"IT'S SNOWING. BUT NOT SNOWING SNOW. SNOWING LEAVES. GEDDIT?!?!?!"

She burst into hysterical laughter. So darn funny. OMG.

PFFT - Karate sounds, shmarate shmounds. That wasn't how Theodore Kinsley rolled. He liked to surprise people with his karate. "SHUSH YOURSELF. I do what I want!" And he certainly did not listen to a girl-pants-bush-man-Joe.

OUCH. OUCH.

*does a sassy finger snap*

"BEAST, you just jabbed me with your stick of destiny!" But where was HIS stick of destiny? On a whim, Theo pulled out his wand and pointed it straight at Blue.

HA HA, HA HA HAAAAAAA.............. Just what spell could he use? And where was she going?!

Theo suddenly went very quiet. Very quiet indeed, as bush-man starting raving about snow. He looked at the leaves that had been thrown into the air and his eyes NARROWED... "Th-th-that is s-S-S-s-s-s--snow?" He sat back onto his butt and hugged his knees as he rocked back and forth.

"I'm blind. I'm blind. I'm blind. I'm blind." Cos he was PRETTY sure that it was leaves and not snow........................ "Blue. The police are going to eat me now."

CREyyyyyyyyyyyy.

Theodore was crying, SO WHY WAS SHE LAUGHING. THE POLICE WERE GOING TO EAT THEM.

"NO. NO NO NO NO NUUUUUUU." She stomped her foot. "NO YOU HAVE TO DO IT THIS WAY OTHERWISE THE LEPRECHAUNS WILL STEAL YOUR FOOD AND EAT YOUR SOUL!" WAAAAH. Nobody wanted that! It didn't make a lot of sense that they'd steal someone's food then eat their soul instead of the food BUT NOBODY QUESTIONED LEPRECHAUNS, OKAY?!?!?! CAUSE IF YOU DID THEY POURED THEIR POT OF GOLF --or was it gold?! ASDFGHJKL SHE WAS SO CONFUSED -- ONTO YOUR HEAD.

And that hurt.

And gave you a pain in your throat.

And then your voice box is deaded. And so are you.

"Well-Well-Well WHATCHA GONNA DO ABOUT IT?!" And what was a stick of destiny, anyway? This kid was talking nonsense. "GAH. THAT'S A MAGIC STICK. Go point it at that tree! Not at me! BOLD BOLD BOLD. I'll stab you with the branch again, mistah!" And she poked him in the tummy again, just to prove that she would.

"IT'S NOT SNOW. It's LEAVES but it's still snow!" GIGGLE GIGGLE GIGGLE. "Isn't that funny Theogoooooore. You're name's Theogore now cos that's MUCH better than Theodore. HEHEHEHEHE."

She skipped in a circle, picking up more leaves and dropping them on his head singing, "You're blind. You're blind. You're blind. YOU ARE BLIND." She sat down in front of him and STARED at him all wide-eyed like. Like an owl. Like and owl that was a Blue. Like an owl that was a Blue that was a Ravenclaw. Like an owl that was a Blue that was a Ravenclaw that wasn't a bird. "The police are gonna boil your bones. And butter you on bread." LE GASP.

"AND I'M NAWT BLUE. YOU CALLED ME BUSH-MAN. I AM BUSH-MAN. That tree called me Bush-Man too!" She pointed at the tree.

"I HATE THAT TREE. THAT SHALL BE MY CHRISTMAS TREE."

Mwuehehehehehehehehe.

Right. Around this time, Kat planned with West on seeing Thestrals at the Forbidden Forest. Though it was forbidden, it would be fun to take some chances once in a while. The only reason they decided to see the Thestrals was because of... that thing that happened the day of their Scrimmage game with Gryffindor. The death of her dad. The blonde still felt weak about it, because she knew she'd never see her dad. Every memory was cherished.

The Slytherin walked past the Hogwarts Grounds and made her way to the edge of the Forest. No, she was not going inside there alone. She leaned her back at one of the trees there and waited for West. It surely won't take a long while, right? 'Course.

But oh my gosh, she was going to see West. On her birthday.

West had a BAG with him. It was, in actual fact, FULL.

... of meat.

Raw meat.

Well you had to come prepared for Thestrals after all, and y'know, entice them to come and say hello.

He also had a present in his pocket, y'know, to return the gesture and all that. He lugged the bag over his shoulder and came to a stop right in front of Kat.

"Hiii you weren't waiting too long right? I had to get an elf to get some supplies first."

The girl was poking around the tree when she saw West arrive. With a really full bag. Great, did he squish Theo in there so they both can watch the Thestrals with her? That was a bit weird, but the thought of Theo inside that bag was funny. No offense.

"Hey," she said. Elves. Merlin this guy was not afraid of elves. Like-o-meter goes up. "Oh no, it' fine. I arrived not so long ago." No one was late, just fashionably late. Did that make sense?

Uhmm.. right. That was a heavy bag. "Do you need help or something?" she offered. HEY they were friends. Friends got each other's back. "The bag doesn't look too... light." Captain Cabinets became Captain Obvious. Before they go into the Forest, they could totally just stay there... and talk... and Kat would have the best birthday ever. Yes.

Really, the dude needed help with the bag. But his muscles could do it.

"Oh good." Nodnod. "Nahhh its okay, won't be bringing it back out with us." Also she might get weirded out carrying meat? Not that he'd tell her it was meat til they got to the clearing but all the same...

... she wasn't a vegetarian was she?

"Its not super far." Like ten minutes from where they were.

"Did you get much cool stuff today?" Cos... well, West KNEW it was her birthday. That's why there was a present in his pocket.

BLINK. What? They weren't going to bring it back out? Ok.... what the hell was in there? And obviously it wasn't Theodore. They wouldn't leave that dude in the Forest... at least they both won't allow that. "Alright then," Kat said as she finally dismissed of thinking Theo was in that big bag.

"Cool," Kat said. Well... she hated walk far distances. Especially since she won't be using a broom. That was horrible. The girl was obviously getting used to flying.

... Cool stuff. Uhmm... what? The blonde looked blankly at him. Yeah, it was her birthday but... it didn't seem like he should be concerned of it. Maybe he didn't even know.... Sighs. "Chocolate frogs from Rora and ice cream from Alec, if that's cool stuff." They were... cause they were all food. TROLL.

He started to walk, hefting the bag again but not having any trouble with it or thinking much of it now.

"Well, obviously that's cool stuff. Anything else? On account of, I got you something too." Y'know, cos she had for him. And his dad said that you had to reciprocate things. West was a good reciprocator, which was why he usually offered to thump anyone who was mean to him.

Reciprocation. Simples.

He paused and added, "I mean, for your birthday."

OHWAIT he hadn't said happy birthday! "Happy Birthday, Kat!"

Right, time to leave. The girl followed the younger boy as they walked into the Forest. Ok, maybe she should've brought a jacket in there. Whatever. At least she was spending part of her special day with a guy she likes... What an understatement, though. It didn't occur to her that her feelings grew through the months.

Anything else? SNORT. Like she had friends out there who would give her something in return. Kat shook her head. "No, actually.. nobody-" Hold up. I got you something, too. He said that. The blonde looked at him, all shocked. BLINK!GULP. "You.... did?" And he even remembers her birthday.

Oh joy!

"And you remembered...?" She was lost in her own words. She couldn't believe he actually remembered her birthday. The girl blushed a bit. Really, that was unexpected to the girl... This was a miracle.

"I.... uhh," she had to blink again. She still didn't believe it. Snap out of it, Hudson. "Thank you..........."

"Yeah of course." Of course he did and of course he remembered. West glanced at her, a bit of light reflecting off his glasses so that his eyes were unreadable. "I kind of have this memory thing? So." Shrug.

He kept walking though.

"Well, don't say thanks until you see it on account of you might think its dumb and all that." West said reasonably. He hoped she liked it but he really had no clue. Probably he should have asked Aspen instead of just choosing something out of a mail order book.

Alright, Kat wanted to jump off the Astronomy Tower already. Knowing that West even remembered her birthday was... amazing. To her. She remained speechless for a few moments until she nearly tripped because of a tree root. "Oof," she said and remained her balance. She's fine, she's fine. Don't worry. And whatever this memory thing is, Kat was thankful about it. "Oh that's cool." Compliments.

Walk walk walk. Watch your step. Another gigantic root. Walk.

"Thanks for actually getting me a gift... is that ok?" she really had to thank him for getting her a gift. I mean... a material gift. But Logan got her a bat... and a shirt... and chocolate frogs too. You know Kat's gonna cherish what West got her no matter what. "Whatever it is, though, it'll be treasured." ... That didn't make it obvious right.

He didn't ask if she was okay because she was tough. She was on the Slytherin Quidditch team, that meant she didn't need anyone asking her if she was okay just because a dumb tree root was in the way. West kept walking.

"Yeah its called an eidetic memory. I remember things." Shrug. It would come in handy when he was old enough to do those exam things.

West supposed that was better and he beamed. "Sure." Treasured though... "I didn't spend THAT much money on it." It was hardly treasure, even if it was kinda pretty.

"The clearing is just up ahead."

Uhmm... what? "I think everyone remembers things," Kat said. Yeah, like everyone had amnesia that bad. There are some who have short-term memory loss. Good thing neither Kat or West had that. "But I guess not everyone has good memory." She was totally not criticizing the others. Not at all.

[i]He's so cute when he beams.[i] Right. "I didn't spend that much on the gift I gave you either..." Kat said. MELLOW. But she did use her savings for the term. That counted right? "Well... I guess we'll see to believe." Whatever. She was still gonna like it.

Oh, it's up ahead? Kat tilted her head a bit to the left. There it was. That was fast, and it didn't seem to reach 10 minutes. Even better... Though it was cold, the girl tried to ignore it. She spent hours in the rain when it was cold last Scrimmage match. No biggy.

"Well, thats good. I like it anyway." And he'd got another key for it too.

"So anyways." West slowed down. "Did you like... read anything about Thestrals or anything before you came? Like, what do you know and everything?"

Well it was important to know things right? It was.

"I like the way you keep saying you like it," Kat said. That was supposed to be a joke but it wasn't funny. Not even Kat found it funny. Awkward. "And once again, you are welcome." Even if West didn't say thanks. Uhmm... ok. Twice the awkward.

"No, I didn't read anything about Thestrals," she was honest. "But I do know some things about it because..." BLINK. Kat steadied for a while. Not a dramatic touch.

She gulped and continued. "... my dad told me stuff about them. You know, like they have skeletal bodies and wings." The Slytherin paused. "And I heard that their tail hair is used as wand cores." Well, obviously West knew that. The kid was too smart for his age.

Well he wouldn't if he didn't, obviously. Awkward? He didn't notice.

"Wellllll.... they eat meat." Paaause. "but not people!" Just to be clear, not unless she was cut open and leaking and then maybe one might have a nibble.

But that wouldn't happen. Nope.

As for the meat...?

He opened the bag and held it open so she could see the slabs of steak, the strings of sausages, and several sizeable meatballs that he'd wrangled an elf to get for him.

Raw.

Meat. They eat meat. Good thing they don't eat people. Kat giggled. "'Course they don't. If that was so I don't think we'd be here." And basically nobody would be riding carriages being pulled by Thestrals anymore. If those Thestrals did eat people, Kat wouldn't be here even if she dared.

... Ok. When West opened the bag, it was a bit disturbing at first. Kat made a face at it. "So this is what you made the elves get for you?" she asked. It was cool that he had the elves get them for him. Nerves. And they were going to feed these to the Thestrals. Good, as long as it keeps those horses away from them if they decided to attack.

You are NOT touching West, you ponies.

He nodded again. Nod nod.

"Yep, they'll come when they smell it. And then we'll know if you can see them or not." It sorta depended how much things had sunk in for her and all?

He led the way into the clearing and then upended the bag of meat on the ground... then stood back.

Okay. Now to wait.