Post by Deleted on May 19, 2017 16:54:08 GMT -7
Anna spent a week after meeting the Diricawl researching. Granted, she wasn't studying every moment of every day, but she was trying to learn as much as she could about the creature as quickly as possible. She even approached a fellow seventh-year that she'd never talked to, and it was a good thing too. Lysander knew a lot more about magical creatures than Anna did.
One week later, she felt like she was finally ready to see the Diricawl once more, though she brought a couple books with her for backup. Anna went down to the tent and entered slowly and cautiously, watching the bird as she moved to a corner and sat down. He was simply laying on the ground, playing with his feathers. As she entered, he froze and looked toward her, obviously tense. Anna watched, entranced when he finally began to ignore her and care for himself. She decided that the first step to them bonding was to help the bird grow used to her presence, so she started bringing homework and books (most of which were about magical creatures) with her to the tent. After a few visits to the tent- and her chat with Lysander- Anna decided to name her Diricawl Dodgson.
She noticed right off a few of Dodgson's abilities, the most prominent being the ability to disappear and reappear (though it was always within in the tent, so Anna assumed the tent was charmed or something) when it was nervous or scared. A few loud noises from the other tents and nearby surroundings and her friend was disappearing and reappearing all over the place, which might not be such a good thing, so one of the first things Anna tried to work on with him was building trust so he would calm down when she was around. She hoped it wouldn't take long, because she didn't like to see him distressed.
Anna went to visit the bird almost daily, delighted on the day when it didn't even acknowledge her entering the tent. That meant it was used to her, right? That was the day she decided to try and approach it once more. As she moved closer, Dodgson froze once more and seemed to watch her with wary eyes, but he didn't vanish, which Anna took as a good sign. When she got close, she nodded her head slowly to the bird, wondering if she needed its permission in order to approach it, like one needed permission to approach a hippogriff. She reached forward and touched him lightly and Dodgson seemed to like the contact. From that day on he seemed to enjoy it when she would come near and pet him.
One day when Anna was visiting, Dodgson was frightened and disappearing all over the place, so Anna reached over to stroke his feathers, something she had never done while the bird disappeared and reappeared because he was nervous. Surprisingly, when she touched him, Dodgson seemed to relax quickly. That became habit, her touching him and him calming almost immediately, which was a relief.
Anna didn't know what she'd do if he went off and disappeared from her during the middle of the Task. It would be almost impossible to protect him if that was what he did.
Anna's next goal to try and help Dodgson become comfortable around her was to have him feel calm while she was shooting spells and/or shouting. She knew that there were probably going to be hard situations in this next Task and wanted to make sure that Dodgson trusted her enough to be calm as she was shooting hexes or jinxes or whatever she needed to. So she summoned a bunch of things to practice on while in the tent with him. They were all harmless. A pillow, a small wooden box, etc. She attacked these objects, gauging Dodgson's reaction each time. For the most part, he was calm and simply rested by her side. However, when she exploded the wooden box, he jumped up and looked around wildly. Anna was immensely proud that he didn't start to disappear straight away. She reached over and stoked his feathers once and then he promptly sat down once more, entirely relaxed.
Once her exercise was done, Anna nodded as she left the tent. Dodgson trusted her, which was a big thing. The one thing she wished she could practice with him was disappearing on purpose, but she didn't know how to get him to do that, nor whether or not he could take her along with him. Hopefully he could and- if it was necessary- would be able to do so during the Task. Still, Anna hoped that wouldn't be necessary.
The next day, Anna went to visit Dodgson once she was out of her classes. She didn't really have a goal this time, though she would probably use spells in front of him again to get him used to it. Still, she wished there was more she could do to prepare for the task. But Diricawls were very calm creatures and Anna couldn't think of anything else she could do. She walked in the tent and greeted Dodgson with a small, moving over to him and petting his feathers lightly. The creature seemed calm and at ease, as per usual.
For a while, Anna sat there beside Dodgson, watching as he performed normal actions, such as eating and preening his feathers. Eventually- feeling as though she needed to do something with this time, she stood and conjured a downy pillow. When it appeared in front of her, Dodgson seemed surprised and a bit intrigued, but soon seemed to forget as he continued preening his feathers. Then Anna started performing spells similar to the ones she performed the previous day, though today she tried louder and more intense spells, trying to prepare him for spells that she would likely use. By the end of her practice, the pillow was in shambles and feathers that were not Dodgson's were floating around. The bird seemed unperturbed by this, which Anna considered a good thing. She started walking around, vanishing feathers as she went. After all, she didn't want to leave the tent a disaster. She didn't even notice that Dodgson was watching her intently.
Then, as she was vanishing a few feathers from a corner of the tent, she felt something lift her left hand. Turning quickly, Anna smiled when she realized it was Dodgson nudging her hand. "Hi, Dodgson," she said cheerfully, running her hands over his feathers once before turning back to the task at hand. She felt his head nudging her hand once more and Anna stopped what she was trying to do, turning to face the bird once more. "What do you want?" Anna asked, positive he wouldn't know what she was saying. Dodgson wouldn't leave her hand alone. He continued to nudge it repeatedly until Anna stroked it and then tightened her fingers around the feathers at the back of his head (though she had no idea why she was doing it). She gasped when everything disappeared and then she was suddenly on the other side of the tent. Anna gaped and then started laughing. "That was perfect Dodgson!" She exclaimed, stroking his feathers enthusiastically. The bird seemed pleased and nudged her hand again. Anna tightened her grip on the same feathers and then laughed when she found herself on the other side of the tent once more. This was perfect! Dodgson seemed to realize that she liked what he was doing, so any time she tightened her grip around those particular feathers, they vanished and reappeared elsewhere. This would be a handy trick during the Task, she hoped.
After this discovery, Anna returned daily to the tent to practice shooting spells in the presence of Dodgson and to practice vanishing and reappearing with him. The bird seemed to understand what she wanted when she took hold of those feathers and Anna felt immensely relieved. She finally didn't have to worry about him leaving without her. Anna was entirely positive that if Dodgson felt the need to leave or escape a situation, he would be sure to take her with him. That was good, because the only way she would be able to complete the task was with them together.
One week later, she felt like she was finally ready to see the Diricawl once more, though she brought a couple books with her for backup. Anna went down to the tent and entered slowly and cautiously, watching the bird as she moved to a corner and sat down. He was simply laying on the ground, playing with his feathers. As she entered, he froze and looked toward her, obviously tense. Anna watched, entranced when he finally began to ignore her and care for himself. She decided that the first step to them bonding was to help the bird grow used to her presence, so she started bringing homework and books (most of which were about magical creatures) with her to the tent. After a few visits to the tent- and her chat with Lysander- Anna decided to name her Diricawl Dodgson.
She noticed right off a few of Dodgson's abilities, the most prominent being the ability to disappear and reappear (though it was always within in the tent, so Anna assumed the tent was charmed or something) when it was nervous or scared. A few loud noises from the other tents and nearby surroundings and her friend was disappearing and reappearing all over the place, which might not be such a good thing, so one of the first things Anna tried to work on with him was building trust so he would calm down when she was around. She hoped it wouldn't take long, because she didn't like to see him distressed.
Anna went to visit the bird almost daily, delighted on the day when it didn't even acknowledge her entering the tent. That meant it was used to her, right? That was the day she decided to try and approach it once more. As she moved closer, Dodgson froze once more and seemed to watch her with wary eyes, but he didn't vanish, which Anna took as a good sign. When she got close, she nodded her head slowly to the bird, wondering if she needed its permission in order to approach it, like one needed permission to approach a hippogriff. She reached forward and touched him lightly and Dodgson seemed to like the contact. From that day on he seemed to enjoy it when she would come near and pet him.
One day when Anna was visiting, Dodgson was frightened and disappearing all over the place, so Anna reached over to stroke his feathers, something she had never done while the bird disappeared and reappeared because he was nervous. Surprisingly, when she touched him, Dodgson seemed to relax quickly. That became habit, her touching him and him calming almost immediately, which was a relief.
Anna didn't know what she'd do if he went off and disappeared from her during the middle of the Task. It would be almost impossible to protect him if that was what he did.
Anna's next goal to try and help Dodgson become comfortable around her was to have him feel calm while she was shooting spells and/or shouting. She knew that there were probably going to be hard situations in this next Task and wanted to make sure that Dodgson trusted her enough to be calm as she was shooting hexes or jinxes or whatever she needed to. So she summoned a bunch of things to practice on while in the tent with him. They were all harmless. A pillow, a small wooden box, etc. She attacked these objects, gauging Dodgson's reaction each time. For the most part, he was calm and simply rested by her side. However, when she exploded the wooden box, he jumped up and looked around wildly. Anna was immensely proud that he didn't start to disappear straight away. She reached over and stoked his feathers once and then he promptly sat down once more, entirely relaxed.
Once her exercise was done, Anna nodded as she left the tent. Dodgson trusted her, which was a big thing. The one thing she wished she could practice with him was disappearing on purpose, but she didn't know how to get him to do that, nor whether or not he could take her along with him. Hopefully he could and- if it was necessary- would be able to do so during the Task. Still, Anna hoped that wouldn't be necessary.
The next day, Anna went to visit Dodgson once she was out of her classes. She didn't really have a goal this time, though she would probably use spells in front of him again to get him used to it. Still, she wished there was more she could do to prepare for the task. But Diricawls were very calm creatures and Anna couldn't think of anything else she could do. She walked in the tent and greeted Dodgson with a small, moving over to him and petting his feathers lightly. The creature seemed calm and at ease, as per usual.
For a while, Anna sat there beside Dodgson, watching as he performed normal actions, such as eating and preening his feathers. Eventually- feeling as though she needed to do something with this time, she stood and conjured a downy pillow. When it appeared in front of her, Dodgson seemed surprised and a bit intrigued, but soon seemed to forget as he continued preening his feathers. Then Anna started performing spells similar to the ones she performed the previous day, though today she tried louder and more intense spells, trying to prepare him for spells that she would likely use. By the end of her practice, the pillow was in shambles and feathers that were not Dodgson's were floating around. The bird seemed unperturbed by this, which Anna considered a good thing. She started walking around, vanishing feathers as she went. After all, she didn't want to leave the tent a disaster. She didn't even notice that Dodgson was watching her intently.
Then, as she was vanishing a few feathers from a corner of the tent, she felt something lift her left hand. Turning quickly, Anna smiled when she realized it was Dodgson nudging her hand. "Hi, Dodgson," she said cheerfully, running her hands over his feathers once before turning back to the task at hand. She felt his head nudging her hand once more and Anna stopped what she was trying to do, turning to face the bird once more. "What do you want?" Anna asked, positive he wouldn't know what she was saying. Dodgson wouldn't leave her hand alone. He continued to nudge it repeatedly until Anna stroked it and then tightened her fingers around the feathers at the back of his head (though she had no idea why she was doing it). She gasped when everything disappeared and then she was suddenly on the other side of the tent. Anna gaped and then started laughing. "That was perfect Dodgson!" She exclaimed, stroking his feathers enthusiastically. The bird seemed pleased and nudged her hand again. Anna tightened her grip on the same feathers and then laughed when she found herself on the other side of the tent once more. This was perfect! Dodgson seemed to realize that she liked what he was doing, so any time she tightened her grip around those particular feathers, they vanished and reappeared elsewhere. This would be a handy trick during the Task, she hoped.
After this discovery, Anna returned daily to the tent to practice shooting spells in the presence of Dodgson and to practice vanishing and reappearing with him. The bird seemed to understand what she wanted when she took hold of those feathers and Anna felt immensely relieved. She finally didn't have to worry about him leaving without her. Anna was entirely positive that if Dodgson felt the need to leave or escape a situation, he would be sure to take her with him. That was good, because the only way she would be able to complete the task was with them together.
