Ary almost pouted. Almost. Because this was one of those rare times when he felt impatient, wanting to get a hang of the spell in record time. Hey, at least he had a ton of motivation when it came to Charms/CoMC, unlike Transfiguration. Instead, he acknowledged Menon’s words by saying, “Got you, Professor. Will do.” The Slytherin continued practising, gradually improving, as he went along. Then it was time to get moving.

There was so much information; a few pieces which Ary was well aware of. The rest, he tucked safely in his brain. Fortunately, he had inherited his dads' skills of memorising facts about creatures. But Hide and Seek! How fun! Though… who would ever want to use harmful spells on the Diricawls? Well maybe not intentionally, anyway.

But it was time to befriend a Diricawl! Ary stepped into the pen, his eyes immediately taking in the range of colours lurking there: blue, grey, yellow… Oh! An orange one! Dad Adi’s favourite colour! Perhaps this is why the seventh year beelined for it with hasty, and somewhat quiet, steps.

“Levioso!” Focusing on the incantation, the tap! of the wand movement in very close proximity of the Diricawl {thank Merlin it hadn’t the time to retreat from him!} and pure intent, Aryan did as instructed by Menon.

In just a bit, he’d find out if he’d been successful with the spellwork.

Beth perked up at Professor Menon’s comment about her technique and she walked toward the sanctuary gate with a skip in her step. She nodded along with the instructions as they came to a slow at the gated door. Hide-and-seek sounded fun, but a harmful spell? Who would do that? She would cry if someone hurt a diricawl in front of her.

Beth stepped into the pen like she was entering sacred ground. She spotted one near a clump of grass, purple-feathered, round. She adored it immediately, which she decided to keep to herself because she was supposed to be dignified today.

She lowered into a crouch, which was probably absolutely unnecessary, but felt like the appropriate greeting posture for this kind of thing. The Diricawl blinked at her. She blinked back. They had achieved mutual acknowledgment, right? Very promising.

Beth inhaled. “Levi-” she began confidently and promptly forgot the rest of the incantation because the Diricawl turned and ran away from her “-um,” she finished, wand still raised.

Beth cleared her throat and made a beeline toward it. She would go up behind it while it had its back to her and she'd try again before it even saw her this time. “Leh-vee-OH-so,” she whispered.

The Diricawl did not float.

It turned around and looked at her again.

She lowered her wand and let out a sigh. “Okay, look here, Mr. Diricawl," she whispered, "I won’t let you hit anything,” she added, almost reassuringly. “And I’m not trying to send you into orbit or anything. Just…gently up.”

Silence.

She nodded at it as if it had responded.

“Exactly.”

Mango waddled over to the small bench. Hoomans loved to sit there now and then and leave her tasty crumbs to eat. No crumbs though... but she heard footsteps.

Who was following her? Mango turned to see a hooman. Shaking her tail feather, she poofed just before the spell could hit.

So close, but the bench started to rise, though.



Blue Raspberry blinked at this young hooman talking to her. It sounded like gibberish, but was nice. The last attempt felt like a warm bath while she remained rooted... But wait she said up?

Her beak opened in a soft gurgle like noise. She liked going Up. But she also liked to ruffle her feathers. Rather than poof, she waddled over towards the pile of leaves... a speed waddle. Leaves were fun to make go up!

Ary wasn’t… stalking, Mango. Just interested in getting to know you by having a nice chat. This time, when his spell missed, he really did pout. Darn it! Oh, he wasn’t annoyed, just disappointed. If the spell had found its mark, and the cute Diricawl hadn’t flown off, they could have already started building on a friendship.

But the bench!

“Finite!” That should resolve that issue, which left him free to pursue his potential new friend. But where did she go? Sure, he could try the spell on another Diricawl but he really liked that orange one… Maybe he could spot the creature if he looked around carefully and spotted it appearing out of nowhere. They shouldn’t be difficult to spot with such a vibrant colour. Then again, there were other feathered ones with that shade.

Bria clung to the sides of the chair like a baby bird gripping a very unsteady perch in the middle of a storm, her curls floating a little as well from the leftover static of illperformed magic. The moment the chair stopped climbing and - even better - began its gentle descent, the Gryffindor's entire body sagged with relief... just not too much so she didn't slip off the chair.

"Thank you, Professor," she breathed out. "I—I didn’t mean to do THAT much levitating. I was aiming for the pebble and... well, suppose this is why I wouldn't make a particularly good quidditch player..." She adjusted her grip as the chair drifted downward, legs tucked in so no dangling toes would get in the way of anything or anyone. But her smile, embarrassed as it was, remained earnest. "Thanks again, professor, for catching me before I became part of the ceiling décor. Everyone really DOES deserve the chance to fly though. Ten out of ten recommended!"

Her moment of defying gravity over for the time being, Bria nearly vibrated in place as Professor Menon finished the briefing. Eyes huge, pupils dilated in the exact way of a child who had just been told she could, legally and with adult supervision, play tag with magical birds. She bounced once on the balls of her feet and smoothed her palms down the front of her robes as though that would disguise the fact that she was seconds away from sprinting. So, the moment the gate clicked open, she bolted inside with the restraint of someone entering both a sanctuary and a sweet shop - which is to say, a little overbearing but not exactly bouncing off the walls.

"Okay," she whispered to herself, lowering into the world’s least effective attempt at a stealth crouch. "Hide and seek, but polite. Respectful hide and seek." She spotted her target almost immediately: a pastel-grey Diricawl perched proudly atop a mossy log, chest puffed, feathers sleek. Her breath caught at their majesty as they stood proudly atop a log as though surveying its kingdom and a faintly speckled chest caught the light just so. Bria crouched... poorly, knees wobbling with contained excitement... and began her attempt at a slow respectful approach. And just when she was close enough to perform the spell... she instinctively chirruped a greeting in what she believed was polite Diricawl.

"Chrrr-row? Chrrr-ROW-wrrp?" she trilled, arms tucked into her side and bent at the elbow so mimic some Diricawl-ly-like flapping.

Aurora grinned at the praise and continued to hit the pebble against her desk until it was time for the activity to be announced.

They were going to play hide and seek with the diricawls?!

BEAM.

How exciting!

Aurora was more than ready to get started, eager to join the diricawls. But she managed to control herself and waited for the professor to finish explaining what they were supposed to do. She couldn’t imagine ever using a harmful spell on a creature, though she knew that there were awful people who would do such a thing. It broke her heart to think of.

Stepping into the pen, she looked around at all the different diricawls. There were so many of them, in different colours. Spotting a yellow one, Aurora decided to try with that one. That sorted, she tried her best to be stealthy and sneak up on the animal. When she felt like she was close enough to try the spell, she tapped in the proximity of the diricawl. ”Levioso!”

Mango was currently perched on the nearby tree above. With a soft little caw, she poofed again. Appearing behind the hooman to watch them lower the bench. Is that what the hooman wanted to do, lift her up?

Maybe she'll comply this time.



That's right. Boo Berry was very proud of this log. It usually held tasty buggies and wormies underneath, that went great with the feast the big hooman gave them.

Their head tilted quivocally at the hooman on the floor. Was there something wrong? Flapping their arms?

POOF

This stick of theirs they dropped looked important. His beak closed around the wand to hold up. It was a tough stick, it would go great with the log. Turning they waddled over behind the big log with great speed. Would the hooman follow them?




Passionfruit was perched on one of the little makeshift swings tied to the tree's branch. He was sitting here when he heard steps, but just as their head turned, they felt a warm sensation. It ruffled their feathers and it looked like they would lift off... but just as quickly, the sensation ended. The most that happened was they stood a little straighter.

Fully turning to the hooman they gave a soft curdle mixed with gobble type of noise. They liked it. Can they do it again?

As the spell hit the diricawl, there was a moment where Aurora was sure that it had worked. It seemed to be lifting off the ground… then it stopped. The creature stood a bit straighter, but it remained in place. Looked like she would need to try again. Fortunately the diricawl didn’t seem to mind her casting the spell on it; she wouldn’t be able to continue the activity if she had upset it. She’d feel too awful to.

As it was, it remained perched on the swings and looked at her before making a noise. Clearly it didn’t mind what she had done. Maybe it had even liked it?

Encouraged by that, Aurora gave the spell another go, pointing her wand in the diricawl’s direction once more. ”Levioso!”

That was exactly what Ary wanted to do, little one!

If you would just show yourself…

Now, there was some cawing around that drew his attention but none belonged to Mango. Until that one particular caw pierced the air. Not bothering to see that the bench was nestled safely on the ground again, his head snapped in the sound’s direction, in time to see Mango vanish.

But where did she go?

Without really thinking, the guy spun around in random directions and spotted the Diricawl behind him. “There you are!’’ came his happy words, as though he were laying eyes on a long lost friend after many years. “Levioso!’’ He tapped as close to Mango as he possibly could get without spooking her.

Please don’t poof, he silently prayed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Narrator

That's right. Boo Berry was very proud of this log. It usually held tasty buggies and wormies underneath, that went great with the feast the big hooman gave them.

Their head tilted quivocally at the hooman on the floor. Was there something wrong? Flapping their arms?

POOF

This stick of theirs they dropped looked important. His beak closed around the wand to hold up. It was a tough stick, it would go great with the log. Turning they waddled over behind the big log with great speed. Would the hooman follow them?

Bria blinked as the Diricawl disappeared and reappeared beside a very well polished twig of some sort. Actually, it looked less like a twig and more like a wand...only why would there be a wand over here on the ground like that? Unless someone had dropped it - like she had while all high up on a chair like earlier. That wasn't happening this time though because she knew that her wand was tucked perfectly securely in her armpit due to the Diricawl flapping mimicry she had been doing.

Except there was something about the stick that caught her attention as the Diricawl moved, causing her to unfold her arms and untuck her hands from her armpits - empty, her hand was empty.

"Oh," she whispered. "Oh no. Nonononoooooo... please tell me that is not my—" Bria’s soul left her body, not for herself, but the safety of the Diricawl. "That IS my wand!" she gasped, but it was too late—the Diricawl had already spun around and with surprisingly speedy smug little waddles running off. "Chrrr-CHIT-CHIT! Trrrrrrrrip! …No! No no, that’s not a stick! That is mine!" she warbled, the bird-calls getting increasingly desperate as she skittered after them. "BwrREEEP? Tchrrrr-chrrr-CHREEE! Please! I need that for learning things! I can’t cast spells with a twig, I tried when I was three and it did not work! Chrrr-ROW-ROW... COME BACK! Sir... ma'am... your log majesty..."

Beth and the Diricawl were having what she had decided was a blink contest. Beth blinked at the Diricawl, then it blinked, then she blinked again, and… well, she was pretty sure she was winning. She didn’t actually know if the bird understood it was a contest, but she refused to lose either way. Then, it broke eye contact and ran off. It didn’t vanish, though, which definitely felt like a win.

She watched it hurry toward a big pile of leaves by the fence. What is it doing…?

So, naturally, she ran after it. She had tried to walk like a normal person, but it somehow turned into a crouched waddle-run sort of thing. She stopped a few feet from the leaf pile so she didn't startle it and raised her wand.

“Levioso.”

This hooman was so nice! He always could tell the good ones from the naughty ones.

Passionfruit cooed pleasantly when they were hit with the Up spell again.

The warm spell ignited them to do a little jig before they floated up a few dozen centimeters.

Could they do it again?




Bacaw?

Mango seemed to have confused the hooman. But they were interested in what they could do especially after making that bench go up and down.

That stick did look intimidating but the worries vanished as soon as they felt a warm feeling. They closed their eyes at the pleasant feeling before they levitated up.

Weee!




Boo Berry didn't mean to scare the hooman. But this wand stick thingy looked lovely! The shape and all. Their mating calls worried them especially and with that they went-

POOF

The wand dropping in the soft grass by the log.

Where'd Boo Berry go? Not far, infact, they just went back to being perched on top of the log.

Safe space.




Blue Raspberry stopped short of the big pile of leaves. Excitedly, they began to jump a little as if they would poof soon.

But they didn't poof. The spell once it hit them caused them to shake their tail feather from the warm sensation.

A soft tweeeeee cooed from their beak as they floated a dozen centimeters along with the nearby leaves before floating back down.

That was fun!

Menon was watching from a distance, allowing him to get a wide view of the spectacle of a lesson. Some students were trying, which was important, so wouldn't fault them. The strategies were impressive, Miss Monteleone was having a staring contest before her attempts came with success! As well as Miss Bay and Mr. Atreyu-Rehman displaying calm resilence among the rest of the students present. Miss Ashburry-Hawthorne attempting to become a Diricawl showed her attention to the earlier question... but her attempts had good intention. He just about brought himself inside the pen to assist when Boo Berry did drop the wand for her. A relief there.

But unfortunately, good things must come to an end, the nearby Diricawls slightly spooked by his voice poofed away, "Alright, everyone. It's near closing time, so you can go on ahead and hug or say goodbye to your feathery partner if you have a trek to make for your next lesson. Otherwise, you're welcome to stay a little longer. Class dismissed!" He wouldn't deny those who had free time to spend it having more fun, after all. Menon simply waited by the gate to see each departing student out.


---
OOC: Thank you, everyone, for stopping by! Class is over, but there's still time to wrap up, post your character's departure, or even have one catch-up post if needed to gain credit. Instructions for the activity are found here. You can also rp out the Diricawl's reaction in your final post from here on. The thread will officially close and lock up tomorrow night.

Mango probably did confuse him. It was known to happen, because Ary’s eagerness with meeting creatures almost always seemed to overpower his ability to think straight. Aunty Hady had always been patient with that ‘flaw’ of his during her lessons. But hey, at least his spell had worked! And his new friend obviously loved the effect! Though Menon had made it clear that the Diricawls enjoyed this particular spell.

“Hi!’’ the Slytherin said enthusiastically but careful to curb that just in case he spooked the bird. “I’m Ary. Is it okay to pet your head?” Mango gave a slight head wobble, which he took to mean yes. So, with his free hand, he reached up to brush his index and middle fingers over the bird’s head; it was soft and smooth in his opinion. “Thanks. So, are you friends with everyone here?” Tweet! “That’s great, it’s good to be surrounded by friendly faces on a daily basis.” The two continued chatting. Random topics popped up: family, flying, food… until Menon announced the lesson was over. Ary had a study session so he couldn’t stay any longer. Mango was given more pets, more kind words and a fond verbal goodbye. Only then did Ary wave bye to Menon then headed out to collect his belongings, putting to an end one of his very last CoMC lessons.


OOC: Here’s to Ary’s final ever OOC lesson! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Narrator

Boo Berry didn't mean to scare the hooman. But this wand stick thingy looked lovely! The shape and all. Their mating calls worried them especially and with that they went-

POOF

The wand dropping in the soft grass by the log.

Where'd Boo Berry go? Not far, infact, they just went back to being perched on top of the log.

Safe space.

Bria practically collapsed onto her knees as she reached the log after all the course correction with vanishing and unvanishing - chasing chickens back home was loads easier, but that was to be expected since they couldn't magic themselves at will. Scooping her wand up from the soft grass, the third year checked it over several times just in case the dricawl's beak had chipped the wood accidentally. She wouldn't blame the creature for it, of course, since it was her fault it was somewhere they could grab it in the first place.

"Thank goodness," she breathed out, first to the unscathed wand and then to the empty air where the diricawl had poofed from, and then finally to the very much visible diricawl perched atop the log. She certainly wasn't going to attempt to cast anything after spending the entire lesson proving she could barely hold onto her wandle and that alone meant she was incredibly unlikely to impress anyone with it. Instead, she pressed the wand to her chest and bowed her head toward the diricawl in a farewell that would have appeased a hippogriff. Her smile twitched apologetically at the professor’s direction before she scrambled upright, cheeks still warm with embarrassment... and disappointment at the opportunity she had let slip through her fingers, literally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charely Potter

....
But unfortunately, good things must come to an end, the nearby Diricawls slightly spooked by his voice poofed away, "Alright, everyone. It's near closing time, so you can go on ahead and hug or say goodbye to your feathery partner if you have a trek to make for your next lesson. Otherwise, you're welcome to stay a little longer. Class dismissed!" He wouldn't deny those who had free time to spend it having more fun, after all. Menon simply waited by the gate to see each departing student out.

When Professor Menon dismissed the class, Bria gave the King of the Log a final tiny wave with accompanying chirup and then scrambled to her feet to hurry toward the gate. "Thank you, professor," she said earnestly, her shoulders only just starting to settle from their previous state of high-alert back when her chair had first levitated. "And I, well, I know class is done, and I know the diricawls are probably tired, but…" She glanced back at the log, guilt and longing tangled in equal measure. "I made such a mess of things today. I didn't even get to try properly. Would... well... would it be alright if I came back? Not now! Just… sometime soon? With your supervision? Maybe with the same diricawl I had been trying to work with again, if they'd have me?"

The diricawl gave a happy coo when the second spell hit it and Aurora BEAMED. Clearly the creature did enjoy what she was doing. The little jig solidified that fact. Watching as it floated upwards, she saw that it seemed to want more and how could she not oblige such a sweet creature.

Would it let her pet it?

Aurora had a feeling it would with how calm and happy it seemed. But she wouldn’t know for sure until she asked. ”Is it okay if I pet you?” The diricawl gave another pleasant coo, so she slowly and carefully reached her hand out before making contact. ”Hi. I’m Aurora. I would like to be your friend.” And based on the way the diricawl responded she sensed that the feeling was mutual.

Much too soon the lesson was ending. Aww. She didn’t want to leave her new friend. So she stayed petting it for a little longer until she had to leave. ”Goodbye. It was so nice spending time with you.” The diricawl made a noise of farewell in response.

Time to gather up all of her stuff and head to her next lesson. She was about to ask the professor if she could come back to see the diricawls when another student beat her to it. She really hoped it would be allowed. She wanted to see her new friend and also make friends with the other diricawls if they wanted that.

Menon was pleased to see how the students cared for the Diricawls. They deserved the respect as much as they wished to receive. He returned Mr. Atreyu-Rehman's wave, and when Miss Ashburry-Hawthorne asked, "Yes, the pens are free to access during your free time," He said as Miss Bay likely overheard while passing, "I recommend taking some of the animal feed from the dispenser as well to feed them when you return. They'll enjoy it." Not that he was insinuating they don't eat often, but a little snack here and there never hurt between their usual feeding time, and they would cooperate easily. "

Excellent work, everyone." Menon addressed to the students as they began to shuffle out. They deserved the praise from the cooperation and no trouble. Eventually, once the final student(s) left, Kraetos followed after, shutting the gate for until next time.