Early to bed, early to rise. It was a phrase that Belle Moore lived by. Not that it was by choice. She was simply not a night person. As soon as the sun went down, she'd start yawning and because she went to bed early she'd wake up early.

This usually meant she was the first one awake ALL the time. Today was no different. The first year made her way to the lake to have an early morning stroll. She hoped by the time she got back to the common room, her dorm mates would be awake.

What she didn't expect however was to get this wonderful gift.

"UNICORMS!" Belle was giddy with excitement. Could she pet them? She wanted to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by UNICORNS!

First there was one unicorn, then two. They were followed by two more - one barely more than a foal. They trotted through the early morning fog to munch on the grasses and other herbs on the far side of the lake. It looked like they had just come out of the forbidden forest.

Early morning risers are the only ones who will see them. This is a very rare sight. Rarely do unicorns ever venture this far out of the woods.

Cordelia was out for her usual morning run by the lake. Got to get her exercise to be healthy and to stay in shape for quidditch. Her hair was blowing a little in the breeze and the ground was damp beneath her feet. As she looked out across the lake, she caught a glimpse of something that made her slow to a stop. Was that unicorns on the far side of the lake? Cordelia blinked a few times as she peered through the mist, wondering if she was imagining them. No, they were real! Seeing real live unicorns was on Cordelia’s bucket list. It was basically her greatest desire. For literally her entire life she had wanted to see a real unicorn. Before her on the other side of the lake were not just one but THREE unicorns. They were the most beautiful things Cordelia had ever seen. Oh - that one looked like a baby! It was so cute! This was the BEST DAY OF HER ENTIRE LIFE!!!!! Three of them! Cordelia stood very still, trying not to scare them away. Would they come around to this side of the lake? She desperately wanted them to be closer to her, but she wasn’t going to get any closer herself. Even at this distance it was still the best thing that had ever happened in her relatively short life. Did those unicorns know how much they meant to her? Wow, she was going to need a new goal in life now that she had accomplished her lifelong dream of seeing unicorns.

On a regular morning, Cornish would be out at the crack of dawn on a surfboard, catching waves and checking on the merpeople. That had been his life for so long, and it was hard to acclimate to a world with no ocean. No waves, unless those little windblown whitecaps counted. But there were still merpeople.

And unicorns? Cornish carefully dropped the phials he carried to the beach and watched the unicorns emerge from the wood on the opposite shore. That was... not normal. At all. Very abnormal, in fact. "Girls," he called to the two Ravenclaws and the Gryffindor who were seemingly awestruck by the unicorns. "Don't approach them. Unicorns in the wild are skittish."

But she wanted to pet the unicorn!

The professor's voice stopped her in mid step and the first year visibly deflated.

"BUT PROFESSOR!"

Wait, too loud. She covered her mouth quickly hoping she didn't end up spooking the animals.

When was she ever going to be this close to Unicorns again?

Ugh ugh ugh.

But professor? What did she think was going to happen? If she rushed them or spooked them, the unicorns were going to go right back into the forest. And considering that they were obviously acting out of sorts, at least to Cornish's mind, he didn't want to scare them off. Out of sorts. That was one way of putting it.

"If you want to approach them, I won't stop you, but I kinda think it won't work out for you. But, I mean, you're the creature expert here." He gave her a half smile.

Hanna registered others around her, having seen the unicorns too. She didn't want to take her eyes off them to see who it was, but when she heard the grown up voice of Professor Cornish, she glanced around to make sure it was him. It was. And they were being instructed not to approach them. Hanna wasn't about to, no way, but hearing a Professor, especially one of Creatures warning them not to approach an animal was somewhat unsettling. Hanna very slowly took some backwards steps to put more distance between her and the Unicorns as she got closer to Professor Cornish.

The loud voice of Belle sent a jolt through her. In the quiet outdoors, it was soooo loud. "Belle, I don't really want to see what a startled animal is capable of doing. Do you?"

The unicorns continued to graze on their side of the lake. At first they paid no heed to the growiny crowd of onlookers. Too far away to frighten them. It was not until the crowd grew even larger that one of the unicorns looked up at the humans. Then it bent back down to continue grazing.

Meanwhile, the sun continued to rise.

What would cause the reclusive unicorns to leave their home in the forbidden forest?

Austin stared amazed at the unicorns. He had never seen one before. They were so beautiful.

The trail had been crossed by a snake, a bad omen to begin, but it was the lack of depth to the hoof prints in the mud that truly brought the stars to dim in Thereos eyes. Though it was still too soon to tell for certain and he would need to consult the sage that night, the lack of depth in the heel from the impression and smoothness of the print itself were concern as to the sour flavor in the dirt from the deepest parts. No centaur hooves, but those of unicorns departing the forest. An action hinted by the rise of Pegasus.

Taking pause of the forest himself, Thereos trotted about the grounds himself in search of his cohabitants only to stumble upon the group of humans observing them.

"Pegasus, Mercury, and Mars combined. A concerning sight indeed," he muttered ominously as he move beside the crowd and folded his arms across his chest.

Austin glanced at the centar but didn't say anything. He was an interesting creatute. Austin continued to look at thr unicorns and their beauty.

Cheese and cracker sandwiches were pretty amazing, and Gunnar continued to eat them as if he just invented the next best thing. Also grabbing a glass of lemonade for himself, he gave a nod and half smile to Nina, noticing her standing next to them.

Still rather amused, he turned his attention back to Kaiser again, he answered him in German as well. "Not a bad idea. I'm sure no one else wants them now." Not that he was so sure that he'd have done the same, but it was an effective measure.

But he soon turned his attention to the prefects as they started to explain the activity. Go through the webs? Gunnar squinted skeptically at one of the large webs. That seemed... underwhelmingly easy. But with some of the challenges laid out, maybe it wouldn't be.

He chose the second web and walked over to stand next to Kaiser. "Maybe we should see who else joins us before making a game plan." But they were taller than some, so maybe they should choose some of the upper openings.

Sammy had come out to the lake early to see if he could get the giant squid to surface. He had heard the creatures liked marshmallows and so he had a bag of them tucked into his belt.

Only he spoted something completely different. He knew better than to go near them though, they didn’t really care for male companionship, or so he had been told. He pasued then noticed another interesting site at the lake. Professor Thereos. He liked the centaur, even if he did have a funny way of talking that sometimes confused him. “Are those their names? he asked the professor walking up besides him. He was sure that unicorns didn’t often come outside of the forest. If they were the names, they were funny names. "I didn't know unicorns had herds." Maybe that's why the professor had sated the sight was concerning.

Old Bartholomew had decided to pay a visit to any Hogwartian there at the Lake. What the old Giant Squid had not expected was to see Unicorns gathered there. It was for this reason he stopped in his tracks for a full minute. It was not a sight to see unicorns out of their natural habitat, the Forbidden Forest.

Bartholomew recovered to swim closer to the shore. Upon reaching there Bart remained still and silent. Focus on the unicorns was where his attention was fixed.

Eniola walked up to the Professor, "Hello, Professor." Eni greeted, hoping not to startle him as she had walked up from behind. "Professor, what is it do you think that would cause them to leave their home in the Forest? I can only assume this isn't common."

Rylee had ventured outside this very early morning with every intention of getting some fresh air and practicing her violin. One of her favorite places to practice was still beneath the large tree near the lake. Not only was it a very shady spot to sit but it was also close to the water which was incredibly relaxing and it was normally quiet there too.

So it was with her bag slung over her right shoulder and her violin case held in her left hand that she made her way towards the lake. It wasn't very long at all before she saw them. Bartholomew the Giant Squid rather close to shore, first caught her eye but that wasn't what kept her attention and had her pausing her steps. Oh, no, while he was definitely fun to chat with a slightly rare treat to meet it was something else. Unicorns. Several of them.

"Whoa..." she breathed in sheer amazement. "They're absolutely beautiful..." By far at the very top of her most favorite creatures list.

Don't mind her. She was just going to stand here and watch them. If only she could go and greet them but she knew better than that. Chances were they would run away if she even tried to get closer or well... yeah lets not think about what else might happen.

Merlin's beard, now Thereos was there. WITH the Giant Squid! Hanna stared at the sight around her in amazement. Sure, Thereos, he was a not-Professor instructor, and sure The Giant Squid if he were by himself. But the combination of the Squid and especially the unicorns!? It was quite a stunning vision. "They really are," she agreed with Riley.

What did Thereos mean by his statement? Hanna liked to understand things. She liked text books, and dot points. Sometimes she even read the Dummies books. What she didn't understand was Thereos. His cryptic meanings, they just went in one ear and out the other. But it would be nice if his words had a meaning, which would be the names of the Unicorns.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

But professor? What did she think was going to happen? If she rushed them or spooked them, the unicorns were going to go right back into the forest. And considering that they were obviously acting out of sorts, at least to Cornish's mind, he didn't want to scare them off. Out of sorts. That was one way of putting it.

"If you want to approach them, I won't stop you, but I kinda think it won't work out for you. But, I mean, you're the creature expert here." He gave her a half smile.

You're the creature here..ugh she knew what that meant. He knew better and she should listen. Not that she would outright disobey the professor anyway.

The RavenClaw did possess the amount of self control necessary to not rush over and pet wild animals...creatures...err...how did one classify unicorns again?

"Okaaaayy.." She replied in a defeated tone. "I'll stay here."

Quote:

Originally Posted by UNICORNS!

The unicorns continued to graze on their side of the lake. At first they paid no heed to the growiny crowd of onlookers. Too far away to frighten them. It was not until the crowd grew even larger that one of the unicorns looked up at the humans. Then it bent back down to continue grazing.

Meanwhile, the sun continued to rise.

What would cause the reclusive unicorns to leave their home in the forbidden forest?

The unicorn looked at her! It's gaze was piercing to the soul. She was mesmerized...but then it looked away. She sighed heavily. Belle could picture herself riding off into the sunset on the back of one of those glorious creatures.

Cue heavy dramatic sigh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessiqua

Hanna registered others around her, having seen the unicorns too. She didn't want to take her eyes off them to see who it was, but when she heard the grown up voice of Professor Cornish, she glanced around to make sure it was him. It was. And they were being instructed not to approach them. Hanna wasn't about to, no way, but hearing a Professor, especially one of Creatures warning them not to approach an animal was somewhat unsettling. Hanna very slowly took some backwards steps to put more distance between her and the Unicorns as she got closer to Professor Cornish.

The loud voice of Belle sent a jolt through her. In the quiet outdoors, it was soooo loud. "Belle, I don't really want to see what a startled animal is capable of doing. Do you?"

The first year was vaguely aware of the fact that more people were starting to show up at the lake. She was way too caught up in seeing the unicorns.

The young Claw looked up at her prefect and shrugged a bit. Really and honestly, she did want to see what would happen if she walked up to the animal but she also knew her saying yes wouldn't be perceived favourably.

"Kinda..?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thereos

The trail had been crossed by a snake, a bad omen to begin, but it was the lack of depth to the hoof prints in the mud that truly brought the stars to dim in Thereos eyes. Though it was still too soon to tell for certain and he would need to consult the sage that night, the lack of depth in the heel from the impression and smoothness of the print itself were concern as to the sour flavor in the dirt from the deepest parts. No centaur hooves, but those of unicorns departing the forest. An action hinted by the rise of Pegasus.

Taking pause of the forest himself, Thereos trotted about the grounds himself in search of his cohabitants only to stumble upon the group of humans observing them.

"Pegasus, Mercury, and Mars combined. A concerning sight indeed," he muttered ominously as he move beside the crowd and folded his arms across his chest.

Belle had been at Hogwarts for a little over a month already and she was stillnot used to seeing the centaur professor trotting around the school. At some point she'd have to find out how exactly he went to the bathroom and if they had a special place in the castle for him to go and all that...but for now....those questions would wait.

"A concerning sight indeed" The young Claw said, echoing her Divinition professor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giant Squid

Old Bartholomew had decided to pay a visit to any Hogwartian there at the Lake. What the old Giant Squid had not expected was to see Unicorns gathered there. It was for this reason he stopped in his tracks for a full minute. It was not a sight to see unicorns out of their natural habitat, the Forbidden Forest.

Bartholomew recovered to swim closer to the shore. Upon reaching there Bart remained still and silent. Focus on the unicorns was where his attention was fixed.

"THE SQUID! LOOK PROFESSOR THE SQUID!" Her excitement peaked.

Cornish's attention was diverted from the unicorn herd by the appearance of another student. In fact, it looked like they had a herd of their own gathering on the lawn. Student herd. What did you call a group of students? Especially slack jawed ones who were going to scare them off? "No clue, kid. What do you think would be enough to make you leave home?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thereos

The trail had been crossed by a snake, a bad omen to begin, but it was the lack of depth to the hoof prints in the mud that truly brought the stars to dim in Thereos eyes. Though it was still too soon to tell for certain and he would need to consult the sage that night, the lack of depth in the heel from the impression and smoothness of the print itself were concern as to the sour flavor in the dirt from the deepest parts. No centaur hooves, but those of unicorns departing the forest. An action hinted by the rise of Pegasus.

Taking pause of the forest himself, Thereos trotted about the grounds himself in search of his cohabitants only to stumble upon the group of humans observing them.

"Pegasus, Mercury, and Mars combined. A concerning sight indeed," he muttered ominously as he move beside the crowd and folded his arms across his chest.

Mmk. Cryptic cryptoid was back. "You know those ladies by name, mate? You really get around the forest. Can you introduce me to any of their friends?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davvy_Wavvy

You're the creature here..ugh she knew what that meant. He knew better and she should listen. Not that she would outright disobey the professor anyway.

The RavenClaw did possess the amount of self control necessary to not rush over and pet wild animals...creatures...err...how did one classify unicorns again?

"Okaaaayy.." She replied in a defeated tone. "I'll stay here."

"THE SQUID! LOOK PROFESSOR THE SQUID!" Her excitement peaked.

This one was a LOT of work. Cornish squinted at her before deciding she definitely needed to be ignored. Learn silence, small one, and appreciate the lovely creatures over yonder. Her sulking was quiet, at least, and Cornish crossed his arms and continued gazing across the lake.

And then he jumped when Belle began screeching about the squid. "I see him, kid. I have eyes. Maybe a quieter tone of voice so we don't startle the herd? If you step up to the shore, he'll let you shake his hand. Tentacle. Whatever."

These magnificent creatures did not seem bothered by the presence of so many people. Most unusual indeed. The presence of Thereos did not frighten them either but this should come as no surprise. Unicorns and centaurs share the forest. If anything, Thereos's presence would be calming.

Mr. Bartholomew might have been a different matter - at least for the foal. It neighed in alarm as the giant squid approached the shallows. The others turned and looked but they didn't seem alarmed. The foal eventually went back to grazing, as if embarrassed by its outburst.

All the morning fog was now gone and the unicorns showed no signs of going back home.

What was going on?

This was so strange. First a unicorn then a squid? What was going on??? Why are the unicorns not leaving?

OOooooooohhhhh!!!
Was that the squid?

in lieu of the professor’s silence along with the large gathering of students gawking at the unicorns, Sammy slipped off to the water’s edge. The squid had been his goal anyways and would be way more interesting the unicorns would be. After all, they were just grazing. Nothing unusual about that.

”Hey…” He said giving the Squid a wave. He didn’t know if the squid would understood him or not. ”I heard you like marshmallows,” he said pulling the bag of them from his belt. ”Do you like marshmallows?” He pulled one out of the bag and waved it around in the air."I like marshmallows. They're yummy and just the right amount of squishy." He talked like he was talking his pet Jarvey as if trying to convince the creature into eating broccoli when it didn't like broccoli. He really wanted to feed the squid something.

Still watching the squid, Sammy heard a loud neighing and looked over his shoulder. The marshmallow held out in front of him in his hand. Apparently the foal had been frightened by someone. Maybe a student had edged to close to the creatures.

Hearing someone close to her speak, Rylee lifted her head and gave her fellow fifth year a warm smile (Hanna). "This is amazing. Definitely a rare sight to be seen," she whispered softly making sure to keep her voice low so as not to startle the Unicorns.

Suddenly the neighing of the smallest Unicorn could be heard and Rylee was sure they would all take off running back towards the forest. That didn't happen though. They showed no signs of running off, not even as the morning fog slowly disappeared. Curious. Very very curious.

"What is going on..." she whispered more to herself than those around her. She was still so clearly in awe but what she was seeing but the creature lover side of her knew something had to be happening. Something that was driving the Unicorns from their homes in the forest.

His eyes callously drifting to Mr. Killebrew and his inquiry. "No," he said flatly while trying not to let his thoughts reflect too poorly on the boy. He knew not what he was asking in his ignorance and limitations as one who dwelled on two legs. They were no names but predictions uttered from the centaurs mouth this moment.

Brown eyes finding the likes of Bartholomew Henry, Thereos wondered where the Giant Squid's manners had gone seeing as there were no salutations offered. More peculiar behavior.

Speaking of a lack of salutations, Thereos eyed the older Hufflepuff, a Miss Abara if he recalled, who so rudely focused on her Care of Magical Creatures professor and ignore the centaur's presence entirely. Very well, he would ignore her presence too. Though his snort of disdain could not be contained.

Arms folded across his chest, now agitated and concerned, he allowed his attention to waver towards the young Ravenclaw who had come to his side. one who seemed to be listening and seeing. Though just as he was to voice his approval, she shouted about Bartholomew. "If you must shout then shout the correct words. Bartholomew Henry," he corrected sharply. "Just as you would not wish to be referred to as 'that human' nor I 'that centaur', you are to use his proper name."

Unfortunately, it seemed as though Cornish was along the same train of thought as the young Gryffindor. A shame. He had had higher hopes for the man. "I know of them but not their names." And Thereos was trying not to be insulted by the assumption that he could speak unicorn, who were magical horses by human standards. "I am reading the omens bestowed upon me by the heavens." He observed the unicorns some more, eyes as crisp as fallen leaves glancing to the forest and back to the herd grazing the Hogwarts grounds. "I would suggest you become acquainted with them yourself. They appear far too content out in the open here than within the seclusion of the forest."

Peculiar. Very peculiar indeed.

Did he just say she could go up to the lake and touch the giant squid? Err no. She was excited about seeing him, seeing as her brothers and cousins had talked about him but she most definitely did not want to touch him.

She shook her head at Cornish.

"No thank you professor. I don't want to touch him."

And then she was reprimanded.

Ooops....

Okay but she really hope she didn't hurt the squid's feelings. She didn't mean to, her excitement had just gotten the better of her.

"Mmsorry professor..." She muttered quietly.

It was the young lady shouting "THE SQUID! LOOK PROFESSOR THE SQUID!" Which made old Bartholomew come out of his reverie. Yes it was he- the Giant Squid. Bartholomew cast one look again at the Unicorns. There was a student (Sammy) approaching. He had marshmallows it seemed.

“Marshmallows are among some of the best sweets.’’ Bart seemed to be smiling as usual with his eyes. “I am not very fond of it but I do have a few on occasions.’’

Bartholomew waved a tentacle. “It’s alright, Professor Thereos. She will learn my name soon enough. Good day to you, little one (Belle). As you know I am Batholomew. What is going on with those unicorns?’’