[Mass/Class] winged horses and other oddities

Selwyn tried not to look bothered as he walked through the Entrance Hall and down to the Paddock.  If the change in volume was any indication, he'd made an impression.  He was unsure whether it was the trousers or the whip.  Maybe some of the kids would actually pay attention today.

He'd almost talked himself into wearing a pair of jeans and a pullover.  Now, he was glad he'd bitten the bullet and gone with the whole equestrian look.  It was only a look.  It'd never get accepted at a competition, but damned if he was wearing cream jodhpurs in front of a bunch of teenagers.  Well, not teenagers who weren't also horse riders.  

There were already a pair of Abraxans and a small group of Aethonons wandering around the paddock, but Selwyn had left the Thestrals to last, since he couldn't hobble them and didn't want the scent of fresh meat to spook the other horses.  

With a package from the barn levitating before him, he walked to the far side of the paddock, nearest the forest.  Then he knelt down and ripped open the package, and hoped the Thestrals were hungry today.

Though she practically loved school, Alva was a bit fed up with the whole ordeal today. People got on her nerves, no matter how much she tried to be nice and calm, they tended to bring the sarcastic and mean side of her out. Walking across the grounds to field where the Care of Magical Creatures class took place, she would pull her hair back into a pony-tail, her bangs not cooperating and doing their own thing, per usual. A fifth year girl who's name she currently couldn't remember rambled on beside her as they walked together. "AJ, what do you think todays lesson will be about?"

"Probably something about magical creatures, I would think."

The girl looked slightly offended. "Well, that does make sense..."

Coming to a few feet away when she spotted Professor Thorfinn, she would become curious seeing him opening a mystery package. "Erm.... Professor? What is that?"

Selwyn stood and turned quickly, trying to conceal the grizzly contents as best he could with his body. Not that he had anything to hide, and they would be seeing it later in the lesson anyway, but if he could put off dealing with their horror or offence until then, that would be fine.

"What are the rules about coming in the paddock without permission, girls?" he automatically rebuked them.

"See those?" He pointed out the Abraxans across the field. "They're as tall as a half-giant at the flank. You could've been trampled."

"Now, let's go back to the barn," he began to lead them back there, as the first few Thestrals began to land behind them.

Though Alva thought the professors tone was slightly harsh, she knew that he did have a point. Sometimes the rules just simply escaped AJ's mind, especially when it came to learning. The truth was, Alva didn't see the Abraxans until Professor Thorfinn had pointed them out. He was right about how big they were, as well as about the fact that they could have been trampled. However, she obeyed and followed him back towards the barn. "Is that what our lesson is on today? Abraxans?"

Turning up to creatures got you perks. If it was a fine day, like today, Selwyn had no compunctions about making them sit on the ground, but if you got there early, you could claim a spot on the fence.

Now, he was watching his brother lead a couple of over enthusiastic Gryffindors back across the paddock. That had been a mistake. Looking like you were excited about anything in front of Selwyn was a mistake. That was why Christian was sitting on this fence, waiting patiently. He already had an advantage over the other kids, because they had horses at home. So long as he was good, he could pretty much count on Selwyn volunteering him to help out.

Goose watched as the professor led the Gryffindors away, looking between the two horses and noting that they were different breeds. He glances up in time to see a thestral landing down, and he felt that strange sickly feeling inside of him, not brought on by the sight of the horses - despite their gruesome look, he didn't find them all that unsettling - but by the memories of the children's hospital that had for so long been his home. Less prominent in his memory was the face of the girl who had never woken up, taken out in the middle of the night while he watched in silent fear as the doctor's tried to bring her back, machines declaring their failure... Worse was the faces of the children he had said good bye too, the ones he had seen alive. Ones he knew he would not see if he returned.

He walked over to Christian Thorfinn and turned to lean against the fence. "Hey," he said, keeping his eyes fixed on the Abraxons. "Your brother really embraced the theme of today."

Christian sniggered.

"I don't think it's the theme you're thinking of," he replied. "Or, not only that one."

He looked over to see Goose's reaction.

"This lesson is going to be torture," he stated. "Selwyn really loves horses. He's gonna want us to see how great they are, and love them as much as he does but it's going to make him neurotic, because he's insane."

Goose arched his eyebrow at Christian, who seemed very pleased with the whole thing. Maybe pleased wasn't right - it was certainly more of a dark amusement. As the other Slytherin explained, though, Goose bobbed his head thoughtfully. He wouldn't say what he was thinking, that classes would probably be more entertaining if the professors were a little more enthusiastic, and instead he scoffed vaguely in agreement, trying to keep his eyes from wandering over towards the thestrals.

"At least he's not obsessed with flobberworms or something equally boring."

Alva was still heading towards the barn, when she spotted two other figures sitting on the fence. They both appeared to be two young boys, one with sandy hair, the other with that the color of chocolate. Although she had probably seen them in class before, she couldn't recall a time where she had actually talked to either of them. She decided to put away all of the other negative emotions from the previous hours of the day and instead focus on the present class. "Fine day, isn't it, boys?" she would ask, hopping up to sit on the fence herself.

With Alva conversing with Christian and Goose, Selwyn went into the barn to attend to Cindy. For a moment, he considered using only a halter, but it seemed like the kids were already enamoured with the flying horses, and Selwyn wasn't above using bribery to ensure good behaviour.

So he slipped on her bridle instead and led her out into the paddock where the class was waiting.

"Everyone, this is Cindy," he introduced her. "As you can see, she's just a regular horse. We'll be studying her before we go and look at the winged horses. And if we have time at the end, I might let a few of you go for a ride."

He had to resist the urge to shudder. But it was only a small class, and although Selwyn knew for a fact Christian wouldn't pass up the opportunity, maybe the other kids wouldn't be so keen. Hell, some of them were probably afraid of horses.