Post by Professor Bryane on Jun 6, 2011 17:44:28 GMT -5
Arielle Bryane had cabin fever. She had been cooped up in a house with a dying woman and a bunch of relatives she didn't like for over a month. It had been mandatory that the entire Bryane family be present. She was glad to be back, but she needed to get out.
I need a vacation for my 'vacation', Arielle thought glumly. The Potions Mistress had several potions lessons planned, but that involved a lot of staying cooped up inside double checking formulas, trying to find variety for the students. Trying to find potions that would give them room to experiment a little.
Yep.
At some point, she planned to open up a Creatures lesson, but that required more energy than she had right now. The dark-haired individual was walking up and down the streets, trying to readjust to open space. Now if only she could rid the streets of people, everything would fantastic. Arielle hadn't had move than a couple of seconds to herself in the last month and a half. She had shared a room with three others, sometimes more. Some of the family had holed up in a local hotel, but Arielle had been summoned to the house, and she hadn't left.
Gods. She peered in a few shops but was reluctant to step inside the claustrophobic place. Ugh. She'd rather be out on the field, looking around the forest. Unfortunately, Fenrir's Wood was off limits, due to the local lycanthrope population. Things seemed to have calmed down, wolf wise, but there were still other monsters, plus vampires had been spotted around. Arielle had met a vampire in France, and he had been pleasant enough. Still, she knew most of them could be nasty pieces of work. Still, things could be interesting. It would certainly give her something to work with.
At dusk, a few were getting a bit more intoxicated than she would have liked to have dealt with. So far, she had been left alone. Others were hitting the taverns to start off their night. Arielle had a flask in her room at the inn she stayed, and when she had first gotten back, she had indulged a bit. However, now she was sober and trying to find something to do with her day that involved a lot of fresh air. Taking off for the nearby fields was sounding a lot better.
Once upon a time, Arielle had thought about plunging in to the wild as a field researcher. She held the post of Potions teacher, but Care of Magical Creatures was a passion as well. Arielle paused to examine a large, striped seeler in the window of an exotics shop. She categorized it in her mind. The snakes were native to South America, their venom could cause hallucinations and insomnia. Locals used to deliberately get bitten and use the high to make up religious stories of talking to gods. The venom itself could be sold on the black market, but certain potions could dry up the venom sacs, and the snakes could be tamed as pets.
It was probably a stupid decision. Arielle crossed her arms over her chest. She was a thin, fragile-looking person. The guy working kept spouting warnings at her, and generally tried to discourage her. That made her feel a little better about the whole thing, but still. She was hesitant.
And then she was outside with the thing hanging over her shoulders. It was fairly tame, nosing along her arm and hanging like a rope. The tips of too-long teeth jutted over the lower jaw, giving it a grinning expression. Standing out in the warm, it seemed perfectly content to rest along her shoulders. She adjusted her jacket, hiding it for the most part. Reluctant to return to her office just yet, Arielle sat on a bench outside one of the taverns. After a while, the snake crawled down and curled up in her lap like a cat.
Yeah this had probably been a terrible idea. The guy in the shop had agreed to take it back if she changed her mind, but Arielle's stubborn streak had lodged the idea in her head. She would keep the thing. If she couldn't have it in the inn, she'd go somewhere else. Didn't the university have rooms for teachers? Arielle vaguely remembered an offer to live in the school, but she had declined, preferring to live away from the campus.
It looked like that might change. She'd been keeping a few exotics in a shed at the school, since the Inn didn't go for pets, but she'd find somewehre in a room to keep the snake. It flicked its tongue and even bumped her hand. After a while, it stopped fidgeting and just sat. From the top, it probably looked like a pile of rpe. She had measured it before she had left - four and a half feet long. Strangely, it wasn't that heavy. Arielle smiled, stroking the top of its head. Save a pale violet band just below the head, it was solid brown, with darker bands all down the body.
What the hell was she going to do with a snake almost as long as she was tall?
I need a vacation for my 'vacation', Arielle thought glumly. The Potions Mistress had several potions lessons planned, but that involved a lot of staying cooped up inside double checking formulas, trying to find variety for the students. Trying to find potions that would give them room to experiment a little.
Yep.
At some point, she planned to open up a Creatures lesson, but that required more energy than she had right now. The dark-haired individual was walking up and down the streets, trying to readjust to open space. Now if only she could rid the streets of people, everything would fantastic. Arielle hadn't had move than a couple of seconds to herself in the last month and a half. She had shared a room with three others, sometimes more. Some of the family had holed up in a local hotel, but Arielle had been summoned to the house, and she hadn't left.
Gods. She peered in a few shops but was reluctant to step inside the claustrophobic place. Ugh. She'd rather be out on the field, looking around the forest. Unfortunately, Fenrir's Wood was off limits, due to the local lycanthrope population. Things seemed to have calmed down, wolf wise, but there were still other monsters, plus vampires had been spotted around. Arielle had met a vampire in France, and he had been pleasant enough. Still, she knew most of them could be nasty pieces of work. Still, things could be interesting. It would certainly give her something to work with.
At dusk, a few were getting a bit more intoxicated than she would have liked to have dealt with. So far, she had been left alone. Others were hitting the taverns to start off their night. Arielle had a flask in her room at the inn she stayed, and when she had first gotten back, she had indulged a bit. However, now she was sober and trying to find something to do with her day that involved a lot of fresh air. Taking off for the nearby fields was sounding a lot better.
Once upon a time, Arielle had thought about plunging in to the wild as a field researcher. She held the post of Potions teacher, but Care of Magical Creatures was a passion as well. Arielle paused to examine a large, striped seeler in the window of an exotics shop. She categorized it in her mind. The snakes were native to South America, their venom could cause hallucinations and insomnia. Locals used to deliberately get bitten and use the high to make up religious stories of talking to gods. The venom itself could be sold on the black market, but certain potions could dry up the venom sacs, and the snakes could be tamed as pets.
It was probably a stupid decision. Arielle crossed her arms over her chest. She was a thin, fragile-looking person. The guy working kept spouting warnings at her, and generally tried to discourage her. That made her feel a little better about the whole thing, but still. She was hesitant.
And then she was outside with the thing hanging over her shoulders. It was fairly tame, nosing along her arm and hanging like a rope. The tips of too-long teeth jutted over the lower jaw, giving it a grinning expression. Standing out in the warm, it seemed perfectly content to rest along her shoulders. She adjusted her jacket, hiding it for the most part. Reluctant to return to her office just yet, Arielle sat on a bench outside one of the taverns. After a while, the snake crawled down and curled up in her lap like a cat.
Yeah this had probably been a terrible idea. The guy in the shop had agreed to take it back if she changed her mind, but Arielle's stubborn streak had lodged the idea in her head. She would keep the thing. If she couldn't have it in the inn, she'd go somewhere else. Didn't the university have rooms for teachers? Arielle vaguely remembered an offer to live in the school, but she had declined, preferring to live away from the campus.
It looked like that might change. She'd been keeping a few exotics in a shed at the school, since the Inn didn't go for pets, but she'd find somewehre in a room to keep the snake. It flicked its tongue and even bumped her hand. After a while, it stopped fidgeting and just sat. From the top, it probably looked like a pile of rpe. She had measured it before she had left - four and a half feet long. Strangely, it wasn't that heavy. Arielle smiled, stroking the top of its head. Save a pale violet band just below the head, it was solid brown, with darker bands all down the body.
What the hell was she going to do with a snake almost as long as she was tall?