Post by Simon Womack on Jun 27, 2012 21:58:21 GMT -5
Just about the only magical discipline Simon was really a fan of was transfiguration. As many cool things as muggles did, they couldn't match that one. Maybe once they figured out better ways of manipulating atoms, then he could be suitably impressed. For the moment, though, transfiguration was pretty cool.
He had to transfigure an animal. Only problem was, he didn't really have any pets of his own. Anything with fur made him sneeze, and reptiles gave him the willies. There was always birds, he guessed, but Simon was just not an animal person. Owls were smart enough, but the eating dead mice thing was not up his alley.
So, in order to get an animal for the assignment, he'd had to think outside the box a little. He'd come down to the lake, hoping to catch a fish or a frog or something suitable for the assignment. He'd used some spare bits of metal to craft a fishhook, and tied it securely to a length of twine he was using for a fishing line. He also had a net. Sure, it was supposed to be a bug-catching net, but it would work for frogs too, right?
Arriving at the lake, Simon deposited his small bundle of fishing stuff a short distance from the lake shore. Then, he dropped down to all-fours and started looked for bait.
Post by Lenny Burkowitz on Jun 28, 2012 19:50:40 GMT -5
Double tasking was a gift from the Gods! The Transfiguration homework was to transform animals into new things. Lenny thought he'd try something in the School, but decided against it. That would be the easy way out, also, there was every chance that one of the animals belonged to a Student, and that wouldn't work out at all. So, that meant going outside.
Lenny'd heard talk about a Lake, and figured, where there was a lake, there'd be fish! Where there was fish, there was opportunity for a picnic! And where there were opportunities for picnics by a lake in woods with animals nearby, it meant he could eat AND take care of the homework all at once! Lady Luck was FINALLY cutting him some slack!
So it was that Lenny marched in to the Lake clearing wearing a loose-hanging bright-yellow shirt vaguely reminiscent of something Hawaiian along with some green-brown shorts and sandals. He'd emptied out his booksack to stuff it full of sandwiches and snacks with his Transfiguration book chucked in as an afterthought. He whistled as he marched through to the Lake, which probably gave him away as he pushed his not-insubstantial bulk past the branches and such.
Post by Simon Womack on Jun 29, 2012 19:01:19 GMT -5
"Ah," Simon breathed, wary of being too loud and thus scarring his quarry away. He'd stupidly left the net behind, but he'd caught frogs with his bare hands before. Simon inched closer and closer and closer still. "I've got you now, Froggie." But before he could wrap his hands around the small, green amphibian, the thing jumped away, escaping into the lake.
The frog had obviously heard what Simon had, the approach of someone else coming to the lake shore. No, that wasn't quite accurate. What Simon heard, with his face searching through the grass and along the shore of the lake for frogs, was not just the simple footsteps of an approaching stranger. This person was clearly not built for stealth. Their footfalls pounded the ground, they snapped branches in their wake, and to top it all off, they were whistling.
Simon was naturally curious to see what kind of person this was. He popped his head up from behind the bush he'd been frog hunting in. "Hey," he said to the newcomer, "You scared my frog." He was only half-serious. He couldn't be too upset about it anyway. There were other frogs to catch, and it wasn't like he'd put up a sign asking for quiet or anything. Besides, it might be more fun to catch things if he had some help.
"So, what do you say you help me catch another one?" Simon went back and collected his fish and frog catching supplies. "Or we could fish, except I don't have any bait." Simon supposed their were worms in the ground, and an accio could bring them to the surface. Only, that felt like cheating, like most magic did to him. Muggles managed to find fishing bait without magic. He could do it too.
Post by Lenny Burkowitz on Jul 1, 2012 21:59:19 GMT -5
Lenny should have figured that he wouldn't be the only one out at the lake, but then again, it was wholly possible that he had just found another kindred spirit! When he stepped into the clearing, the larger lad took in a deep breath of air and sighed. The sweet, fresh outdoors, and company at that! Sure one was a party, three's a crowd, but two was just right! The boy he'd walked in on had fishing gear too! No picnic basket but - in all honesty - Lenny had more than enough to share. And intended to. What he hadn't intended was scaring away the other boy's quarry. That immediately triggered only a faint pang of guilt. Not to the extent that he'd go to the ends of the earth to find the perfect frog, but still. He always had trouble saying no.
His thicker eyebrows shot up, and he winced a bit. "Oh geeze, I'm sorry, yeah, totally, didn't think I'd run into anyone else out here, but yeah. Definitely. Frog? Yup. I can do that." He scratched at the back of his head, grinning apologetically as he crossed over toward where Simon had dropped his stuff and set his down sloppily next to it. "And don't worry about bait, I brought some! Used to go fishing with my Dad, though usually it was sea-fishing, so I wasn't sure if the Lake fish would like the same kind, but I figure worms are sort of universal, and I'm nervous and rambling and stuff. Hi. I'm Lenny." The husky lad spoke a bit quickly as he pulled a can of worms and a fold-out fishing pole from his booksack - not before pulling out three sandwiches, a thermos, the Transfiguration Book, and a bag of pretzels.
He began munching on the pretzels the second the worms were set down on the ground.
Lenny murmured a quick enchantment on the bag, to keep it levitating nearby without him needing to keep his wand on it. It left his hands free to do whatever, and kept the snacks within arm's reach! It was the perfect combination. "Figured I'd kick back, relax, snag some fish for cooking and transfiguring!" He was all grins at this point. This wasn't a classroom, there were no timetables, and he couldn't show up late. Perfect.
Post by Simon Womack on Jul 1, 2012 22:18:41 GMT -5
Simon smiled. This guy seemed like the easy-going type. "I'm Simon. Nicetameetcha and all that. Say, you mind if I grab one of those sandwiches?" Without really waiting for a yes or no, Simon took one. "Thanks, Lenny." Lenny's fold-out fishing rod was really neat, and it certainly beat out the makeshift hooks tied to lengths of twine that he had. Simon had read a book about muggle survival skills in his parents' library right before he'd left home, and he'd been kind of looking forward to trying some of that stuff out.
Still, the book did recommend 'using all your resources'. So, if Lenny had brought a real fishing pole and a can of worms, well then it would be just plain irresponsible to ignore them. "Where'd you get that pole? is it spring-loaded, or what?" Simon went through his own supplies, realizing that he had come out here woefully under-prepared. Two fishing lines, a net, and his tools did not really qualify as proper fishing equipment, nor would they be probably all that effective at catching frogs. Not that Simon was bothered too much.
"You know what would be great, Lenny?" Simon asked, forgetting frogs for the moment and laying back on the grass. "Camping. We should totally come camp out muggle-style one night. We could tell stories and eat food we cook over a real fire. Like those hot dog things. And S'mores. I've tried making them at home, but they never seemed quite right. I think you have to be camping to get them to work." Besides, mom had totally freaked when she saw the mess of chocolate and marshmallow he'd made in the kitchen.
Post by Lenny Burkowitz on Jul 7, 2012 17:38:52 GMT -5
Simon had brought up smores. And talked about hotdogs. And food. The second brain that simply HAD to exist in his stomach given how hungry he always tended to be acknowledged the other lad as a friend immediately for coming up with such a delicious idea. In fact, it urged his stomach to give out a growl of approval - a growl no amount of salty delicious pretzels could hope to drown out. Lenny snickered while grinning, bushy brows shooting up at the suggestion of camping and completely and utterly sticking it to lights-out rules and most of all COOKING OUT! YES! OH MERCIFUL HEAVENS YES!
"Springs? Yup! My dad's a Squib, so he likes to tinker around and nab Muggle stuff. Usually gets two of everything, one for him and one for me. Mom sticks to magic mostly, but Dad can't. Even forces me to do a lot of chores without magic. All about keeping my brain sharp and all that. I've only got the one though...but plenty of bait and stuff! And camping sounds awesome! I can make some mean smores. Like you wouldn't believe. OH and some real Redcap Stew! Oh and I know how to set up a fireside barbeque, and - man just let me at the kitchens and I'll put the elves to shame!"
As he spoke, Lenny started lacing the bait around the hook of his pole. It took some doing since his fingers were large, and the worm desperately did not want to be tied around the hook - spearing it was too tricky to do without hooking into his fingers as well, so tying the worm was the next best thing. Relatively painless. The bag of pretzels, once emptied, folded in on itself and fell while Lenny 'plopped' down onto the lakebed, tossed his sandals off and back to his backpack, and cast his line in, before summoning one of the sandwiches to his hand.
Post by Simon Womack on Jul 25, 2012 16:59:42 GMT -5
Simon took one of Lenny's worms and threaded his hook through it, his thinner fingers perfectly suited to the task. The muggle survival book he read suggested that fish like shady pools with lots of cover. The better to hide them from birds and other predators. An over hanging bank was the perfect spot, and he sat down and dropped his line in. As much as he wanted to talk with Lenny som more, he wanted to get this assignment done.
Lucky for him he didn't have to wait too long for a bite. Simon jerked on his line and pulled a very nice fish out of the water. "I got one! Lenny, I got one!" He was pretty excited, never having fished before.
He had no idea what kind of fish it was, but did that really matter at this point? He had to transfigure it into something similar? Well, it was black, and kind of shiny and slippery. He put it into a bucket of water he had with him, and went to try and catch a frog.
Post by Lenny Burkowitz on Aug 1, 2012 10:43:31 GMT -5
Oh while Simon might have been contented with that little trout, Lenny was aiming for bigger prey. Big stomachs wanted big fish. It was a MAN'S meal! So the larger lad cast his line farther out toward the deeper bits of the Lake, licking his lips in anticipation of the things he might be able to cook. Seared trout? Fillet? Sushi? Grilled!? His stomach gave an appreciative gurgle toward the thoughts. While Simon snagged his comparative guppy, Lenny waited, grinning. "Way to go Simon!"
Internally, time slowed. His bushy brows furrowed as he watched his line sink lower, and lower, without a snag. Waiting. His internal pendulum was ticking slower and slower. He might as well have been alone in the universe. The forest went silent in his head. Some part of him was even extending along his line, into the water, calling out to the fish. This of course was all exaggeration due to Lenny's lack of patience, but still.
"C'mooooonnnn...C'moooooonnnnnn......Biiiiiiiiiiteeeeee.....BIiiiiiiiiteeeeeeee. You know you wanna bite....come onnnnnnnnn fishy fishy fishy...."
It was an epic battle of wills: The Heavy Hufflepuff sitting crosslegged on the banks, hunched over and glaring daggers at the water, and the sweet, placid lake. Only one would walk away alive. Or fed.
Post by Simon Womack on Aug 8, 2012 13:01:14 GMT -5
Crawling through the bushes and reeds by the lakeshore, net in hand, Simon rustled around, trying to scare up a frog or something. There was a movement in Simon’s peripheral vision, and he turned to track it.
Simon’s thoughts centered on catching one more animal. He brushed a little mud on his cheeks, like the grease paint football players wore. He was camouflaged.
Those frogs wouldn’t know what hit them.
The Ravenclaw boy’s body crouched in the shadow, tracking the movement he’d seen earlier. Yeah, this was going to be great.
At the appropriate moment, he sprung. "YAH! Froggie! Gotcha!" his net swung down toward the amphibian, but his footing slipped, and the net ended up over Lenny's head.
Simon's face reddened. "Sorry, man." He removed the offending net. "Maybe I ought to just stick to fishing, eh?"
Teagan Offline: This board is full of nostalgia.
Aug 22, 2020 8:39:09 GMT -5
Missing the old MH: gotta say missing when MH and all that was around.
Nov 6, 2019 0:02:30 GMT -5
Willow_lazy: why tf are there 400 posts about adidas
Sept 6, 2018 17:35:57 GMT -5
Azrael: I'm not hard to find, since I'm the only one there who goes by "Azzy", I'm pretty sure. XD
Feb 10, 2018 16:44:41 GMT -5
Azrael: Dunno if anyone still pops by here from time to time, but if any of you mofos do and still feel like gettin' yo nerd on, I've been hanging around this here place a bunch recently: www.roleplayerguild.com/
Feb 10, 2018 16:44:10 GMT -5
Azrael: hold onto your pantaloons
Jul 25, 2016 5:16:43 GMT -5