[Lawns] Jaws

[Noah Yves]

"You're terribly odd-looking."

Noah grinned brightly, flicking the mushroom with his fingers gently and watching it swing back and forth in a lazy, sweeping motion. The Gryffindor had never seen anything like it before, and was sure the strange species hadn't begun to sprout near Hogwats until recently. "I wonder if this is Coeus' doing," he murmured, prickling himself on one of the bristles coating the strange plant.

The pink mushroom shed a few more bristles that punctured Noah's thumb, and the Gryffindor winced, sliding away. Moving to sit in a cross-legged position, he caught sight of a funny, small object barreling toward his new discovery.

Accompanied by frivolous giggles, a gnome sped toward him from in between the forest trees before snatching the mushroom from the ground. Noah watched, shocked, as the mushroom grew a furious pair of teeth and snapped jaws at the gnome who promptly ate it.

The unusual display left Noah staring, even after the gnome stole a few of his quills and rushed back inside the depth of the forest - lest one of the house-elves found him. After a moment of silence, the Gryffindor watched bewildered as a new, identical, mushroom sprouted from the roots of the old one.

"I don't play games with Horklumps," he finally voiced, laughing gingerly as he pulled back from the animal in realisation of what it actually was.

[Leyla Emerson]

Today certainly was a beautiful day wasn’t it? The sun shining, a breeze passing slowly across the grounds. Absolutely perfect. Save for the little critters running amuck in the lawns, but she could look over that. Leyla tied her hair up, out of her face, though a few strands of hair just fell back into place. Well, not everything could be perfect. She flicked her hair lightly with one hand, and grinned at the way it swayed back and forth. Highly amusing, I assure you.

She slung her bag over her shoulder and started to walk again, trying to find a good spot to sit down and relax. Not too sunny, but not too shady. It had to be absolutely perfect. As she pursed her lips and looked around, something grabbed onto her bag. Startled, Leyla jumped a bit and tried to back up, but whatever it was only tugged harder. As the Gryffindor whirled around, ready to shout at some kid, she noticed it was a gnome clutching onto her bag. It smirked up at her with those ridiculously frightening teeth and tugged harder.

Annoyed, she grabbed onto the straps and tugged back. Her forehead was crinkled was annoyance as she tugged. “Bloody gnome, let go!” Her insults only seemed to make it more happy, which was annoying. Leyla slid her hands further down the bag, so she was clutching onto the bag itself. She tugged again, this time actually gaining some ground. That is until the gnome decided to play dirty and bite her.

A small shriek of pain – and surprise – flew from her lips. The thing snickered, but didn’t release its grip. Well, neither did she. She aimed a well earned kick at the gnome. That actually made it let go. It ran away, still grinning devilishly, as Leyla grumbled. She held her arm closer for inspection, but luckily there wasn’t any blood, only the indent from the gnome’s teeth. As she looked up, still annoyed, she heard a familiar voice. Noah! After that realization, she spotted the boy talking to some sort of plant. Shrugging, Leyla walked over and plopped down next to him, nudging his arm lightly.

“Look, I know you don’t have a lot of people to talk to, but you talking to inanimate objects is just going to scare more people off.”

[Polaris Stormwrath]

Ah, today was a fine day! Weather-wise, that is. These sorts of days Polaris never quite took too, but that's just because of what's to come at night. No matter, she would enjoy the day fully, with little interruption. On her way out of the castle, the Ravenclaw heard something disconcerning. A growling? Oh! Momentarily the girl had forgotten she hadn't eaten in a few days. Such things happened when she knew and felt the on coming of a certain event. Maybe I can sneak a few nibbles without anyone noticing.

With a hop, skip and a jump, Polaris shifted into her animagus form within a matter of seconds before hitting the ground after launching off of the castle steps. Landing, the wolf proceeded to nose around the lawns and edge of the forest. What was she looking for, you ask? Horklumps. Her legs moved quickly and accordingly to her nose, sniffing out and rooting around for the prized beast.

Normally she wouldn't be caught outside of the castle in her shifted form, but tonight was the full moon, and when those rolled around, she couldn't fully control her transformation. Not to mention she hasn't eaten in days. Luckily no one was around to see her..

Closer.. closer.. Almost.. Have it..Were the minimalistic thoughts in her mind as her nose was glued to the ground, her head swinging from side to side in pursuit of any mushroom-y beasts. Feeling she was close to a horklump, but some students as well, Polaris wanted to shift back, not to hot on the idea of people seeing her in such a form.

Laying her ears back against her head, the wolf finally came upon what she was looking for! Having bumped the creature with her nose, the mushroom aptly lashed out at her with it's bristles. With a whimper and furrowing of the brows, she quickly snapped at the horklump, dislodging it from the ground before chewing.

A lot harder than you'd expect, but you reap the reward in the end.. She thought while laying down, continuing to chew on the beast. Once done, she realized that she had ended up in the middle of some sort of meeting between two students. Peering up to them with wide, bi-coloured eyes, Polaris opted to stand and go up to them once recognizing only one out of the pair.

Letting out a howl that eerily sounded like 'Noah', the wolf stuck her nose under his hand and nudged it up as if saying 'Pet me'. Being stuck temperarily isn't so bad is it? Atleast it has it's ups! She thought, sitting there in contentment, though her eyes never seemed to leave the second of the pair, Layla.

[Noah Yves]

With a low hiss, the Horklump's stem curled toward Leyla's approaching figure, resembling for a brief moment, a flower slanting toward sunlight. Noah's eyes followed it curiously, lips quirking up into a wry smile when he spotted the familiar girl.

"I'm appreciating Hogwarts nature," he said airily, waving away her comment with an amused sideways glance. Reaching out an arm, Noah grazed the bristle-covered surface with a thumb, tilting his head to one side as he listened to the animal's low growl. "You should see the jaws on this guy..."

She soon got the chance, however, as one of the most renowned predators stalked up to the mushroom. Noah grinned widely, defying usual human instinct by leaning forward to watch the wild display. The horklump let out a careening cry, its own jaws appearing against its fleshy petals, before all was silent save the soft chewing of the wolf.

Hiding his smirk, eyes mirthful, Noah turned to Leyla. "Tonight's the full moon," he said matter-of-factly, as if in explanation. Then he let out a small laugh, fingers catching in Polaris' fur as he brushed his palm against the velvety neck.

[Leyla Emerson]

“Call it whatever you want Noah, but you’re only going to stay in denial that way.”

Leyla leaned forward curiously as the thing growled at her. She couldn’t see any jaws, but she would just have to take Noah’s word for it. Grimacing, Leyla drew back and rubbed her hand absently. “I’ve had enough run-in with teeth of any sort thank you.” Bloody gnome, trying to steal her bag. She shot a glare over to the forest, and she could swear that she heard a giggle in return.

Her glare was interrupted by a giant furry figure bending down to snap up the Horklump in its jaws. A surprised little squeak escaped from her and she leaned back. Her body screamed for her to run, but she was too entranced by the figure. It was a wolf, no doubt about that. But, for being so close to them, it was surprisingly tame. Which either meant a) someone hexed it to do that, b) it was Noah’s pet (which she wouldn’t put past him) or c) it was an animagus.

Noah reached out and pet the thing, and slowly the bi-colored eyes turned to her. As if it was watching her movements, trying to see how she would react. If Noah could pet it, then by golly so could she. Slowly, so not to startle the beast, she pressed her hand softly again the fur, and slowly moved her hand down. So soft, which surprised her a bit. “Can I have an explanation please?” She murmured, pulling her hand back.

Leyla turned her expectant gaze away from the wolf and switched it to Noah. One eyebrow was raised in question, but she didn’t seem to be totally frightened by the sight of the wolf. Actually, the appearance intrigued her more than anything else.

[Polaris Stormwrath]

Loving all of the attention, Polaris gave her usual wolfish smile with her tongue lolling out between her fanged jaws. As much as she hated being stuck, she loved the feeling of fingers being ran through her fur. Prancing around the pair, the wolf kept nudging and licking stray hands as she saw fit until they were pried away.

With a soft whimper, she laid down between the two. Explination? Did something happen between her and Noah? Polaris wondered while peering up at the girl with curious eyes. Confused by what the girl meant, she kept moving her head back and forth between the two. Never did it dawn upon her that what she meant was about her. Of course she was going to be at least semi-oblivious to it, she had been dealing with it her whole life.

Polaris grunted softly before laying down in the grass once more, only this time to roll over onto her back, legs raised up into air. Best thing to do is make the best of it! Especially since I have this itch on my back..

[Noah Yves]

"If denial means your company," Noah's eyes glimmered with seriousness and humor all at once as he watched Leyla familiarize herself with Polaris' wolf form. "Then, I plan on staying in it, Emerson." He grinned decidedly, stretching out his legs and nudging the wolf's paw with his foot.

Another Horklump hadn't sprouted from the grounds, and Noah laughed slightly, regarding Polaris with a slanted expression. "You and that gnome scared them away," his gaze traveled to Leyla, who had grown curiously disgruntled at his mention of the inane creature. He was immediately drawn to the arm she was absently rubbing.

"Did you get bitten?" His expression was slightly dismayed, though the teasing look in his eyes was unavoidable. Reaching over, he invaded her space and took her arm, laying her palm face-up on his leg. "It's a little one, not bad at all; Maybe he was just giving you a kiss."

Smirking, Noah glanced toward the animal between them again. "Everything's acting strangely today. It could be linked to the magical aruora of a full moon." Noah paused, his tone ending in question. "Well, at least hers is." He gestured to the wolf with a thumb. "Have you met Polaris?"

[Leyla Emerson]

Leyla continued to stroke the wolf while Noah talked. She only glanced at him when he said her last name, and she stuck her tongue out at him childishly. “Whatever floats your boat Noah.” Her fingers scratched gently behind the wolf’s ears, like she would be scratching a dog. She grinned slightly, lips turning up in silent glee.

Gnome, guh. The word sent shivers down her spine and made her hand throb. Another glare was shot toward the trees. Bloody awful things they were, those gnomes. She fixed her gaze back onto what she was doing, which was currently threading her fingers through the wolf’s thick fur. How it hadn’t overheated or anything yet was beyond her. That and the fact that it hadn’t bitten her hand off yet.

“Did you get bitten?

[/b]”

Noah leaned closer to her and snatched her arm, laying it gently on his leg. She jerked in surprise, but didn’t otherwise react to it. Grimacing at his comment, Leyla jerked her hand back and rubbed it, glaring down at the ground. “The last thing I would want is a kiss from a bloody gnome.” She grumbled softly under her breath as her eyebrows furrowed. Of course it was just a little one, she didn’t give the wicked thing any more time to make it serious.

One delicate eyebrow arched at Noah’s little theory. She shrugged lightly and shifted so she was leaning back on her hands. Her head tilted back, blond locks falling back against her back with the motion. She blinked up at the sky, wincing at the brightness of the sun. Her gaze shifted from Noah, to the newly named Polaris. The name rang a bell…oh dear this was going to bug her for a long time.

And then it hit her.

“…She’s an animagus isn’t she? Polaris is a student here.” Her eyes widened a bit at the thought, and she tweaked Polaris’s ear lightly. “Well, congratulations on pulling off the whole animagus thing. I don’t think I’d be able to do it.”[/font][/blockquote]

[Noah Yves]

The forest looked innocent when Noah stared at it, vaguely hoping to see the offending gnome but having no luck. "It's a good thing I'm not a gnome then," he teased, fingers sifting through the grass near his knees and lips tilting upwards slightly.

He expected her to eventually figure it out, so Noah wasn't surprised when recognition flitted over her expression. He nodded, letting go of the crumpled grass in his palms and watching it dust over his robes. "That she is. Looks like she's ready for a good hunt, too." He grinned, patting the wolf affectionately. Leaning into the soft fur, Noah's grin faded into an evasive smile. "You're a lot more outgoing in this form, you know," he whispered, sending Leyla an amused arched brow.

"And Emerson, I must say I'm sorely disappointed in the lack of floral instruments in your hair. I've come to associate it as your trademark!" He sounded completely serious, but the mirth in his eyes gave him away.