Zoryn made a grab for her gloves before standing up and following the crowd to the hay field. Man, if they were gonna have to touch mooncow poop.... Zoryn was sure that Professor W had something that foul in mind. The man was super cruel, so there wasn't any doubt in her mind that they'd be doing something gross like that.

The Gryffindor was starting to wish she had skipped class all together today.

When were they gonna see the mooncowthings?

And could she keep one if they were cute enough?

She'd been wondering when and where they would be seeing the mooncalves. As it turns out, somewhere off in the fields. She was game.

Slipping on her dragonhide gloves, the Ravenclaw naturally had questions. A gloved hand rose high. "Will we be able to keep the dung for our own personal use, Professor, or will it be part of some homework activity we'd have to get done before sunrise?" And while she was at it. "With it only being useful until sunrise, will we be given permission to head for the Greenhouses before heading back to our Common Rooms when class is over?" Otherwise collecting the dung would prove to be a useless waste of time.

Unless....the point was for them to feel the texture of the dung....or to see what shade of grey they were...

Someone tell her this class was more than that.

Jessa walked on with the others, her gaze kept on the Professor as she went. The question was very important to her interest level for the rest of the lesson and she would hate to be disappointed.

"Do the mooncalves live on the grounds here? I assume that's the case, would we be able to observe them on our own once there's a full moon?"

Everything that had been said about the mooncalves only had made Stasya want to see them that much more. Especially because she totally agreed with Professor Wayland that the creatures were cute even if they looked unusual. They looked cute because they looked weird, and there might’ve still been a few incredulous looks in Ace’s direction because he just thought they looked weird. That was actually kind of insulting, really. Maybe the mooncalves thought they looked weird. It wasn’t their place to judge. Plus, there were all sorts of questions appearing in her head given the rest of the information they’d been given.

Questions that Jessa had asked, or at least she’d asked a lot of them so the second year had merely set her cocoa down long enough to retrieve her dragonhide gloves and slip them onto her hands. Besides, they had to get over to the hayfield before the mooncalves showed up, because she refused to miss that. There were enough disappointments in her head already that were creature-related, so she didn’t want to add to the list. Mostly, it was just the fact she still hadn’t been able to find out if the unicorns she still felt she’d befriended in the forest were still okay, but that was still enough.

She’d still raised her hand as she’d walked toward the hayfield, though. “Does the dung have to be used in the same night it was collected, or is it useful just at nighttime?” As in, if they collected it, could they keep it for later or not, not that she actually thought she’d have a need for it. Since she was still conflicted about Herbology and Potions was still on her list of least favorite subjects.

That and she was totally already planning on trying to see if she could sneak out to observe the mooncalves again, since it seemed like the professor wasn’t planning on letting them try to befriend them this time. She knew how to earn creatures’ trust by now, even if the mooncalves were shy. Unicorns could be too but she’d managed that.

Was he serious? What did it have to do with their physical characteristics or magical abilities? UH, did she not just explain that it meant born under the malign of the full moon?? And he even said they come out of their burrows on the full moon, so clearly it was all in the name. "Everything, Professor. When you look at the etymology of a name, you can see that it was all there, for the reasoning they come out only on the full moon. So by looking at the reason they do things, you have to look at its name, which is why one needs to look at the name itself before you can look its magical abilities, because that explains everything."

And now they were going to observe the mooncalves; she forgot it was a full moon. Standing up, she followed her peers toward the hay field...

Emmeline had been quiet for a while cause she'd been distracted by the awesome prospect of getting to see them (and maybe pet one?). She had then been consumed with scribbling down notes as fast as she could and trying really hard to sit still and stuff.

Finally it was time to go see the cute creatures, yaaay! Though she had a feeling that they'd be picking up dung after the mooncalves left, which was bound to be kinda gross. Still, even that impending grossness didn't stop the second year from beaming as she fished her dragon hide gloves out of her bag and hurried to catch up with the rest of the class headed toward the observation area. Mooncalves yaaaay!!!

Mooncalfs…

Somehow Cassie felt she should have thought of them as the lesson topic. It all fit, what with the nighttime meeting for Care of Magical Creatures when the moon was full and bright. It practically screamed the creature’s name now that the sixth year thought about it. Had it been a Potions lesson, she would have suspected a specific set of potions ingredients found during a similar time. Oh well, she hadn’t, which was fine by her. They sounded cute and cool so the Ravenclaw was more than ready to move on and get to try and handle, or at least observe the tentative creatures.

So when the time was right, she left her notes and bag at her spot as instructed, pulling on her dragon hide gloves as necessary. Then Cass got up from her seat and moved to follow the professor, her movements as quick as she dared without making too much noise. No scaring them off before they even arrived where they needed to be.

He had been listening to everything going on, but per Eddie usual, he didn't talk at all. He just listened. He never felt the need to talk when everyone else was so eager to do what the professors wanted. He didn't even really care about the lesson today, mooncalves weren't that cool. If they were doing more dangerous creatures he'd be more into it, but mooncalves didn't seem at all interesting.

Getting up he did what he was told and headed to the hay where they were directed. He sat on a corner that no one had taken yet and just hoped people would sit away from him. He knew he had been saying something around people to make them think he was someone they didn't want to be friends with. Almost smirking as he thought about the snake girls face as he said he liked to use creatures to test things on.


Now to wait for the lesson to continue.

Answering all the questions Jessa and Stasya had made the walk go quicker than he thought it would; which he was more than okay with! Soon enough they arrived to the area where they would be observing the adorable creatuers. Just at the edge of the hay field there was a flat section of grass between the field and the forest where he had set up blankets for them all to sit on. It was far enough away from the forest that no creatures would bother them, and far enough away from the entrance to the burrow that the Mooncalves wouldn't be frightened by their presence.

Tristan stopped just in front of the blankets, and quietly gave out instructions. "Alright, everyone! Find a blanket to sit on and be as quiet and as still as you possibly can. The Mooncalves will be making their appearance any time now! When they come out, I want you to watch them as closely as you can. Watch how they dance and move with each other! We will not be able to go near them because it will scare them. Wild Mooncalves are much harder to approach that those in captivity. So please, stay were you are seated and do not approach the creatures." Tristan found an empty blanket at the back so he wouldn't be in anyone's way, and sat down cross-legged.

Soon enough the sweet little creatures began to peak their heads out of their burrow near the hay field. He hoped the students had noticed them!


OOC: Alrighty Stage 2 has commenced! Your task is to RP your student observing the way they dance and taking note on the different motions they make. The more creative your posts are the better and the more fun it will be! For those that are needing to catch up for the mini activity, you may do so!! You have 24 hours to post for this stage! There is no post limit! so post as much as you want!

It was taking ALL of Natalie's self control to keep her wiggles INSIDE her body. She almost leaped out of her seat when he said they were going to observe MOONCALVES. Now, Natalie wasn't a fan of most creatures, especially smelly ones, furry ones, poopy ones and mean ones, but MOONCALVES. MOONCALVES WERE CUTE.

She had never seen one in real life before, though, so this was monumental.

Excited to see them, Natalie hurried and quietly followed the professor, quickly taking a seat on a blanket, her eyes wide in the dark, quickly looking back to see if Derf was coming. Wiggling her knees with excitement, Natalie stared into the darkness and waited.

*!!!!!!*

Natalie clamped a hand to her mouth when she saw the glow of GIANT mooncalf eyeballs as they emerged into the viewing area. THERE THEY WERE. SO CUTE. AND THEIR LITTLE LEGS AND GIANT EYEBALLS. OMG.

Daisy had made her way to the edge of the hay field and carefully sat down on one of the blankets ensuring that she made no sound. Her eyes were brimming with silent, joyful tears as the sight of the mooncalves befell her. It was very cute seeing a pair of the creatures interact with each other via this adorable dance.

Etta was EXCITED, to say the least. The prefect liked all kinds of creatures but she’d never really seen a mooncalf before.. especially a dancing mooncalf. How cool was that?! She quickly got up and headed towards the hay field behind the barn with the dragon hide gloves in hand, trying not to run. What? She was super excited, okay. The Hufflepuff had a few questions but decided to wait until later. For now, she only wanted to see the dancing creatures.

The girl sat down, carefully listening to the instructions. Aw, they couldn’t get too close to the mooncalves.. well, that was sad. She waited patiently until she watched them come out slowly. Oh, MY. The girl stared in awe as she noticed the mooncalves perform some kind of dance or movement with each other.

Wasn’t that the cutest thing EVER?

Well...at least the professor seemed convinced of his lack-of-answer-answer in regards to the Charms professor. You know, had to be that Hufflepuff charm at work. But the professor's grin was super telling, you know? Did the man know? Because Derf was CONVINCED that he was right and now he was SUPER excited. SO much so that he, er, sorta was only half listening to the instructions. Though he did notice his classmates grabbing their gloves soooooooooo he did too.

Clutching them in his hands, the third year scampered off after the group while taking great care not to step on any twigs or sticks or anything that might make a loud sound and freak the mooncalves out and stuff. Which was why he came to a slow alongside Natalie. While his eyes WERE eagerly looking around for any signs of the creature in question, he couldn't help but notice just HOW excited she looked. Her. Natalie McKinley was excited about seeing a creature. Grinning from ear to ear, his hand was sliding into hers before he even knew his limps were moving. "I KNEW we would fnd a creature you got excited about," he whispered in her ear while leaning over just a bit towards her. "AND it isn't even a fish!"

Had he missed the cue to put their gloves on? He was sorta just holding them in his free hand at the moment and NOW sufficiently distracted because the mooncalves had ARRIVED.

And yes he HAD guessed things right!

"Mum and dad use their dung when they are growing Sopophorous plants," he explained to her in a LOW whisper. "Cause...their dung is the BEST fertilizer for that...kinda neat thinking about how the dung is silver...and so is the inside of the beans, you know?"

Leaning forward a bit where he stood, Derf watched the small little stomping movements, some a little more enthusiastically then others. And some seemed to be wiggling their tails...or lifting them up higher in the air.

Maisie’s heart soared. Grey heads were poking out of a burrow. She could barely sit still on the blanket she had chosen. Her school notebook was beside her, but she felt too excited to write or draw anything. The art in her favourite stories was beautiful and she was starting to wonder how accurate they were.

The one she was looking at emerged fully and Maisie had to clap her hand over her mouth to stop herself squealing. Its eyes were huge and it focussed them hard on the moon. It found a space in the grass and started to dance. It didn’t take its eyes off the full moon, but started to dance in a circular pattern. Maisie had never seen the crop circles left by Mooncalves. She wondered if the Professor would let them study them tomorrow when it was light.


Professor, she wrote, not wanting to disturb the Mooncalves, can we study the crop circles tomorrow? In daylight? Maisie Dimple.

She passed the note to the Professor, her blonde hair shining in the moonlight. Maisie turned her attention back to the dancing Mooncalves.

Text Cut: Deeerf *hearteyes*

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Well...at least the professor seemed convinced of his lack-of-answer-answer in regards to the Charms professor. You know, had to be that Hufflepuff charm at work. But the professor's grin was super telling, you know? Did the man know? Because Derf was CONVINCED that he was right and now he was SUPER excited. SO much so that he, er, sorta was only half listening to the instructions. Though he did notice his classmates grabbing their gloves soooooooooo he did too.

Clutching them in his hands, the third year scampered off after the group while taking great care not to step on any twigs or sticks or anything that might make a loud sound and freak the mooncalves out and stuff. Which was why he came to a slow alongside Natalie. While his eyes WERE eagerly looking around for any signs of the creature in question, he couldn't help but notice just HOW excited she looked. Her. Natalie McKinley was excited about seeing a creature. Grinning from ear to ear, his hand was sliding into hers before he even knew his limps were moving. "I KNEW we would fnd a creature you got excited about," he whispered in her ear while leaning over just a bit towards her. "AND it isn't even a fish!"

Had he missed the cue to put their gloves on? He was sorta just holding them in his free hand at the moment and NOW sufficiently distracted because the mooncalves had ARRIVED.

And yes he HAD guessed things right!

"Mum and dad use their dung when they are growing Sopophorous plants," he explained to her in a LOW whisper. "Cause...their dung is the BEST fertilizer for that...kinda neat thinking about how the dung is silver...and so is the inside of the beans, you know?"

Leaning forward a bit where he stood, Derf watched the small little stomping movements, some a little more enthusiastically then others. And some seemed to be wiggling their tails...or lifting them up higher in the air.

Suddenly, Natalie's hand was warm and she realized Derf had joined her. She held his hand with an excited squeeze and beamed at him before looking back at the little creatures. He would understand just how monumental Natalie finding a creature exciting was. It was a BIG DEAL. "They're so cuuuuuute," she responded in an awestruck whisper. CUTE. Fish were boring. Mooncalves were ADORABLE.

If they were supposed to have put their gloves on, Natalie missed it. She was too busy staring at the bug-eyed creatures. And besides, one of her hands was holding Derf's hand so she was clearly preoccupied. Derf was whispering to her about dung and beans and whatever, but she was too busy watching them. So cute and little with giant eyeballs - aaawwwwwww...

"Wait," she said, looking over at Derf, realizing what he said. "That's gross." Their poop was silver and it turned the BEANS silver? REAL beans? Edible beans? "You don't eat them, do you?" Perhaps this would also be a lesson where Natalie learned what fertilizer was.

Ooooh! They were going to the hayfield. That was pretty cool. She dumped her bag onto the floor. She didn't have much in it, so she wasn't too worried. After her dorm being ransacked, she honestly didn't care any more. Most of her stuff was ruined, so it hardly mattered. She did make sure to grab her dragonhide gloves though. She needed them, the professor had said so. She held them carefully in her hands as she began to walk towards the hayfield. She was quiet as they walked, but she had a big beam on her face. She adored this class. she loved creatures. Sure it wasn't a job she wanted to do, but she really did love it.

Once she was at the hayfield she quickly set her things up, so that she was ready to observe. She didn't want to miss anything! Things like this could be really important in her OWLS. She didn't want to fail so she had to make sure she got down everything. And now to wait on further instructions.

Carefully she found herself a spot on a blanket, and rested her parchment on her knee, so that she could lean against it to write. She didn't need to have messy notes. Now it was time to watch them. this was going to be so cool. She was sad they wouldn't get closer, but she totally understood. She didn't want to scare anything. That would be really bad!

At first she couldn't see anything, and was a bit bored, but then she suddenly saw them! Oh. They were so cute! And they began to dance. Oh that was cool. They were kinda making crop circles. Hattie quickly began writing some notes down, but also made sure she was focusing on the mooncalves. She didn't want to miss anything!

And the mystery was solved. They would be studying mooncalves today. Shay was kind of excited about that. Mooncalves were pretty high up on the 'cool creature to learn about' list. That made staying up until midnight worth her while. When the next question came up, Shay had some ideas. Unfortunately, so did everyone one else in the class. She decided to remain quiet and take notes. She added to her notes when the professor gave his information on the creatures. They really sounded quite fascinating and Shay couldn't wait to see them in person.

When it was time for a change in venue, Shay gathered up her gloves, parchment and quill, then stood together with her classmates. She wondered why they would need their gloves, if they were only going to observe the creatures. A thought popped into her head, and she hoped that she was wrong about the possible answer that she had come up with. Shaking the thought from her head, Shay chose to focus on the positive. She would get to see mooncalves! The Gryffindor followed the professor and her classmates to the hayfield behind the barn. She made sure to stay quiet as instructed while she waited for further directions.

Shay didn't have to wait long because the professor soon told everyone what to do. She found a blanket and sat down. Then Shay positioned herself comfortably with quill in hand. She was ready to jot down her observations and more ready to see the cute critters. Suddenly, Shay noticed little mooncalf heads making their appearance. It was too bad that the animals were so shy. Shay would have loved to interact with them. Oh well, she would have to be satisfied with just watching.

The mooncalves were just as advertised. Shay noted all of the characteristics that had been described in class. Those big eyes made them even cuter. The seventh year watched as a one of the animals stood up on its hind legs. She knew what was coming next, but had no idea exactly what she would see. The mooncalf began to dance, exhibiting moves like she had never seen. Being a dancer herself, Shay could appreciate agility and complex choreography that she was witnessing. She began to jot down notes on what she was observing. It kind of made her want to get up and dance herself. The mooncalf's freestyling was pretty awesome.

That was vague. The kind of vague that left you distractedly trying to figure out what exactly the Professor meant when he said what he did because allowing her to study it was only half the iss--they had to ask Myers too?? He was probably well on his way to dreamland by now. The last thing he'd want was a curious Ravenclaw nudging him awake to ask if she could try some dung on the plants in the Greenhouse.

And of course they'd have to go including the Headmistress. As if the Professor didn't know that the more people you added was the less likely it was that you'd get exactly what you wanted.

What if she said 'no' because of all the weird stuff that'd been going on in the last few months? Such a wasted opportunity it would be. Jessa thought it over as she took a seat on the blanket closest to her. They appeared in different places, she would need permission, they were elusive and hard to catch. So far the odds weren't exactly going in her favour but the Ravenclaw watched nonetheless.

The dance itself was intriguing, the patterns, the way they moved so gracefully around each other. How did they coordinate like that? What was the criteria was choosing a mate when they all danced about the same. Again, she had many questions but having been cautioned to remain as quiet as possible...she would have to keep them to herself.

When could they collect the dung?

Aha so we're walking over behind the hayfields huh? Okay! Jonas left his bag but took his dragon hide gloves with him.

The twenty or so Mooncalves danced their intricate dances for a good fifteen minutes. Though the sweet creatures might look a little funny, they were so incredibly graceful! He always enjoyed watching the unique movements they would make. Sometimes they even looked like they would make wonderful ballerinas! It was enchanting and so fascinating, he was sure even the most horrible person in the universe would still love these cute little guys. Soon enough, the Mooncalves set their front feet back on the ground, and went off in pairs back into the their burrow.

As soon as the last pair was no longer visible, Tristan stood and faced the group. "So how was that huh? Really interesting right?" He said with a grin. "Now lets go look at the shapes! Make a mental note of what you see in the shapes and come back and share when you are done investigating! After that we have one more activity to do! Do not touch the poop! It's easily visible as it is silver. So, please leave it alone." For now at least. He clapped his hands together once, "Off you go!" He shooed them.



OOC: Alright! You all are doing awesome! This is now stage 3 of the mini activity! So what you need to do is have your charrie go out into the hay field and check out the patterns or crop circles that the Mooncalves have left, and then come back and share what you saw with the group. Everyone's crop circles should be different. No two are alike, so make it as creative as you want it to be and post as much as you want! For those that want/need to catch up you may do so! You have until Tomorrow at midnight EST to get this part done before we move on to the final activity!

Oh! They were legit going to watch mooncalves? For real? Vivian forced herself awake and searched her bag for her pair of dragonhide gloves. And they were told they could leave the rest of her things behind, which was a relief because she really hated having to bring a lot of stuff. The prefect made sure to bring her valuables -- wallet and wand, among others -- and then went to follow the rest of the students to the hay field. She sort of stayed behind just in case anyone decided to sneak away, and so she could make sure nobody got left behind.

Once they reached the hay field, Vivian went over to take a seat on a blanket she had claimed and waited for the mooncalves to arrive. And when she spotted a tiny head poke out of one of the burrows, the blond had to resist a giggle. What a cutie! And they all started dancing, which was so ADORABLE. Good Merlin, at least she had told herself to stay awake. This was a view wasn't going to miss, for sure.

Just... OMG, cute. That was it.

And now, the cuties retreated and Vivian sort of pouted. But, anyway, it was time to move on. The prefect stood up and followed the others as they approached to examine the shapes of each crop circle. Peering into one of them, the blond had to squint in order for her to see. Tilting her head a little so a bit of moonlight could shine over a crop circle, she took a moment to identify it before coming back to join the group.

Oh, and... avoiding the poop. Yes, Vivian jumped over one of them. Honestly, they didn't look like dung at all, thanks to the silver colour. But, ahem... anyway. "My crop circle looked like a spiral," she shared, and nodded. "Like it was trying to hypnotise or something." Mhm.

Well, fine then. Professor Wayland asked how the etymology related and she explained it was all in the name, but then he just completely went on to instructing the lesson and observing the mooncalves. We see where his priorities were. At the hayfield, with her dragon-hide gloves, the fifth year plopped down on the blanket next to Hattie and rested her head on the blonde's shoulder. Hey best friend? You don't mind, right? Her blue-gray eyes stared at the mooncalves dancing and she had to admit it was kind of entertaining.

Although it would have been MORE fun if they were able to dance with them, but alas, apparently not. And then the dance was over and now time to go look at the crop circles they made in the ground?

But not to touch the poop. But why did they need gloves then? The fifth year had assumed that was the reason for bringing the gloves...!! With a sigh, she reluctantly stood up from the best friend and walked over to the first crop circle she saw, grateful for the full moon in that it made it easy to spot. A half-moon crescent, how interesting... but what did it mean?

Henry was completely fascinated by the mooncalves as he watched them poke their heads out of their burrows and begin mingling amongst each other. Sure, he had seen pictures of the creatures before, but he had never seen one in person or up close. In fact, he wanted to get a little closer, maybe even approach one, even though he knew they were shy and probably wouldn't be receptive to that.

He slowly crept a little closer, though he still kept his distance. He didn't want to scare them away but he did want a better look. The eighteen year old stood transfixed as their mingling soon turned to dancing. How cool. Maybe he should be taking notes or something, but the thought didn't even cross his mind. He just wanted to watch while they were out in front of the class.

And almost as soon as they had appeared, they began disappearing back into their burrows. It was a little disappointing that they were gone so soon, but Henry had been really excited for the rare experience of seeing them in front of him and in action.

With the rest of the class, the Head Boy walked out into the field, being very careful where he walked. He didn't want to step in anything he shouldn't. Eventually, he found a crop circle that others weren't observing. Walking around the outside of it, Henry kept his eyes on the shape as he made some mental notes.

"The crop circle I found was like concentric circles," he shared with the group, once he returned. "A smaller circle inside of a larger circle." Somewhat interesting. Did different shapes mean different things?

Oh they were moving. Olly took his cup of hot chocolate with him as they got up from their hay bales and started moving to the field. He also made sure to grab his gloves and stick them in his pocket, but he left the rest of his things behind as instructed. Now that they were moving it was helping wake him up a little bit. Plus there was a bit of excitement about getting to see the mooncalves dance. It would definitely be pretty cool. When they reached the clearing Olly took a seat on one of the blankets and watched eagerly.

He made sure to pay attention to the dance but did not take any notes because he hadn't brought anything to take notes with. It was okay, though. He was pretty sure he'd be able to remember most parts of the dance if he needed to. But it sounded like they just needed to go look at the shapes made on the ground, which was easy enough. He stood and went out to look.

Olly went to an area that wasn't too crowded with other classmates. They were all supposed to be looking at unique shapes, after all. He made a mental note of the shape and came back to rejoin the group and share what he saw. "It looked kinda like a figure eight."

Right.....so they were gonna look at the circles....but couldn't touch the dung. This was the perfect example of being so close and yet so far. It was like the Professor was playing mind games. Testing their resolve to see how well they could follow instructions in the face of temptation. It left her with one very important question; how would he know?

This wasn't to say she had any intention of going against his orders, but there was nothing to stop her from thinking about it.

Did the dung have special tracking characteristics? Was it more like, having not brought their bags it would have been easy to notice if they took any with them? She had pockets, you know. It wouldn't have been any great risk extending one and placing some dung inside. Even if she couldn't get to the greenhouse tonight, she'd have put it to good use. Surely there was something up in her lab that would appreciate the good fertilizing.

But anyway, patterns on the ground. It was weird how the mooncalves just left like that--she DID want a closer look even if she'd heard it was near possible. In her experience, the Professor considered most things impossible, but there was nothing she could do about it for the moment.

Jessa kept her eyes trained on the grass, following a particular area of pattern from where she thought it started, to the point at which she thought it ended.

Interesting. What WAS this meant to be anyway? To be sure, Jessa retraced the pattern once more before heading back with the others. On the walk back, she tried to figure out exactly what it was. Even as it was her turn to 'present', for lack of a better term, she was still making guesses.

"I'm not entirely sure what I was looking at. It could've been a lollipop...I guess. Yeah. I'll say it was a lollipop"

Because what else could it be?

He watched the mooncalves as they came and looked around at everyone just staring in wonder. They were just creatures and instead of being super quiet he started coughing, whoops, it may or may not have been on accident, but he chuckled to himself all the same. As they left he hoped they could all just be done now, but of course, that wasn't going to happen. He sat with a bored look on his face he listened to the professor.

Getting up he slowly walked around and looked at poop. Seriously he couldn't even scoop some up to keep and use for his own entertainment. This was so lame, but could he get away with taking even just a bit? He glanced around to see where the professor was. Looking back at the dung he slowly walked around trying to come up with a plan.


Hearing other's report their findings he walked back to the group, but kept quiet on any findings. He was just a person that would rather listen than talk.