wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure

[alittlemirror]

To say Jade is displeased would be an understatement. It's not that he cares about this detention tarnishing his record, no. He doesn't really care about his record. What he does care about is how it cuts into his studying time. He had just come across a particularly fascinating snippet on the nature of death and the soul...

(And besides, those Hufflepuffs had started it with their incessant chattering. They're like a less annoying version of Saphir, and nobody had ever really objected when he hexed Saphir. And it's not like he used a serious hex; he just sealed and removed their mouths. Easily reversible, if they knew what they were doing - and knew how to use nonverbal spells.

After all, what kind of first-year doesn't know how to use nonverbal spells?)

But someone had taken offense to his hex, and now he finds himself trudging to Professor Rammsteiner's office, growing increasingly irritated at the loss of his study time. From what he's heard of detentions, they usually entail doing useless, mundane tasks easily accomplished with a little creative wandwork. He's thought about ignoring Professor Rammsteiner's orders more than once, but he's also been told that it would just lead to more detentions and thus a bigger waste of time.

Oh well. He's here now. With one last irritated sigh, he raises his hand to the door and knocks.

"Professor Rammsteiner? This is Jade Curtiss."

Comments

[alittlemirror]

Oh. A test would be more interesting than this pointless talk they're having. At this point, Jade is half-tempted to accept the offer of being hexed, but his pride stops him. If there's one area of magic he has no skill in, it's healing and restorative spells. He'll have to go to the Hospital Wing if he really does get hexed, and he hates being reminded of his limitations.

So he shakes his head with another frown. "Then what are we doing? You didn't plan this out, did you?"

Respect for teachers, what's that...

[canicide]

"No." Straight-up, no, he didn't plan this. When giving detention Heine usually foists it off on one of the other professors who always need some hard labor done.

"I'll find something for you to do. Come on."

The Herbology professor has their list of requirements, which he'd offered to pick up things for in repayment for the massive favor of not having to teach the subject. It's traditionally Hufflepuff and all, but God knows he's not suited for plants.

A deep area of the Forbidden Forest he shouldn't be bringing students to, now... that he can do. Heine gets up from behind his desk, patting himself down reflexively to ensure that his wand is in the pocket of the robe he's wearing over decidedly not-wizardy jeans, t-shirt, and canvas sneakers. He leads the way out of the classroom and starts down the stairs in a slouch.

[alittlemirror]

He didn't plan this. He really didn't plan this. Jade's irritation is more pronounced than ever as he stares up at Professor Rammsteiner with narrowed eyes. This is a waste of time.

But, fine, it looks like Professor Rammsteiner is finally ready for them to get started. Hopefully he can be out of detention within the hour. He's a little curious when the Professor rises to his feet, but the majority of his focus remains far away, on that tome he had found earlier this morning.

"We're going somewhere?" He asks, ready for it to be some place boring. He's heard that cleaning up the dungeons was a common detention.

[canicide]

Heine remains the worst professor.

Especially when he casually replies, "Yeah, the forest." He waits a moment for the moving stairs to set them down at the right place and walks more quickly, not caring if Jade's little legs have to work faster to keep up.

[alittlemirror]

Professor Rammsteiner is probably walking faster on purpose, is he? It's a good thing the mention of the forest takes Jade by surprise, or he might have (lazily) kept to his old pace. As it is, he speeds up to a slow trot, keeping pace with the Professor.

"The Forbidden Forest?" He asks, with a slight emphasis on the Forbidden part of the name. Not that he doesn't want to go - the opposite, really - he's just making sure that's where they're really going.

[canicide]

"Yeah. Why, you got a problem?" Heine goes down the last flight of stairs and shoves his hands into his pocket as he goes out a side door, slowing his pace at last as they start crossing the stretch of lawn that separates the building from the forest.

The sun is setting. Seawort grows only in the light of the moon, but it'll take them a while to get to the deep part of the woods where it grows. Of course, nightfall also spells the beginning of many creatures' active periods, but it is what it is. Heine just hopes the kid will shut up at some point.

[alittlemirror]

Unfortunately for Heine, 'shutting up' is not a skill within a Ravenclaw's repertoire. Jade shakes his head, then immediately asks another question: "Why?"

Maybe he should be scared. The forest must be forbidden for a reason. But he won't get anywhere by being scared, and he had thought about looking around the forest before anyway.

[canicide]

"I told Rokeby I'd pick seawort for her next class," Heine eventually replies. They're coming up on the edge of the forest now, and he comes to a stop, finally, just under the shade of the first trees.

"We'll be going in pretty far. If you see something or someone, tell me. Don't wander off."

And with that enthusiastic warning, they're off. Heine walks quickly, constantly scanning the area around them for anything out of the ordinary.

[alittlemirror]

"Okay." Even Jade has a little instinct for self-preservation. He's been told over and over again that the forest is dangerous, and while that doesn't scare him away, he knows he has to stay on guard.

Hand never far away from his wand, he follows after Professor Rammsteiner. The temperature seems to drop as soon as they step under the shadow of the first trees; he shivers a little, also glancing back and forth.

Dead leaves and twigs crunch under his feet as they walk, the sounds of the nighttime forest surrounding them. Jade remains vigilant, following calmly after Professor Rammsteiner, not a hint of fear to be seen.

[canicide]

Heine's glad that he's at least quieted down a bit. He'd seen seawort on his last expedition into the Forbidden Forest, so he has an idea of where it is, but he has to concentrate to not let the trees all blend together.

From time to time there comes an odd sound from the trees around them—human-like cries, birds chirping, the footsteps of something much larger than a human. Heine ignores most of it, until he spots the flash of yellow eyes more than once—following them.

He takes up his wand with his left hand, and keeps walking.

[alittlemirror]

Noticing Professor Rammsteiner's movement, Jade takes out his wand as well, although he's unsure why they're doing so. Is there some sort of danger incoming? He hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

"What is it?" He asks quietly, looking around, trying to see for himself. But it's hard to see anything in the dense undergrowth, and harder still to distinguish one object from the next. The shadows seem to knit together, forming a fathomless darkness impossible to penetrate.

[canicide]

"Might be nothing." But of course, better safe than sorry. He's on edge now, prepared to cast a spell if he sees a thing.

But first, he sees the seawort. Heine comes to a stop by the patch of it, looking up to see the moonlight streaming through the trees to light them a faintly glowing pale blue-green.

"Here. These flowers." He walks around them, searching the woods around them for any sign of movement again, even as he directs Jade. "Pick at the base of the stem."

[alittlemirror]

He doesn't even let out a noise of acknowledgement before he has wand pointed at the softly glowing flowers. With a casual wave of his wand, he plucks a cluster of three flowers out from soil, sending them floating into the air and into his free hand.

(Because he's apparently above kneeling down and picking flowers out from the ground is too much effort.)

"How many do you need?" He asks, already "picking" another cluster of flowers.

[canicide]

Looking around them, Heine is occupied and only replies, "I said at the stem, not out of the dirt." There are twigs cracking and trees groaning; too much clutter to listen through.

He casts a ward and silence falls like a blanket over them, the magic filtering out sounds coming from anything that doesn't mean them harm.

Perhaps sensing the magic, something growls outside the clearing.

[alittlemirror]

"You didn't answer the question," Jade retorts, wand moving in a sharp swiping motion. The severed roots fall back into the dirt. "Does it even matter how I pick them? It'd be faster if I pick them all out of the dirt and we cut them at the stem when we're back in the castle."

Herbology isn't his strong suit. Oh, he's interested in the results of herbology - the potion components, the useful talismans that can be created from plants - but the process of taking care of plants? He'll leave that to someone else.

The growling gives him pause, however. His eyes flick over the clearing even as he speaks, and he makes no move to pluck another bunch of flowers out of the dirt. It looks like he might have need of his wand soon, and he'd rather not die because he was too busy picking flowers.

This is the most poorly thought out detention ever.

[canicide]

"You have to cut them before picking. It fu—messes up the potion if you don't." Kids probably don't care if he curses, but other professors do. Heine frowns.

He's starting to see rushes of motion between the trees, and more than one.

"Hurry up."

Heine makes no offer to help. It's still detention, after all.

[alittlemirror]

He sees those rushes of motion as well. What he doesn't do is hurry up. If anything, he's more disinterested in the flowers than ever.

"Shouldn't we take care of those first?" He asks, eyes fixed on the shadows, wand at the ready.

[canicide]

"They might not do anything." Though the sounds seem to indicate otherwise. Heine knows, though, that making the first aggressive motion won't help him right now.

"I'm watching, just pick the damn flower. Properly."

[alittlemirror]

"You still haven't told me how many we need," he states, allowing the ruined flowers to drop back to the ground. Their glow is already fading.

He thinks about arguing some more, but even he knows that they shouldn't fight when there might be a whole pack of monsters waiting too pounce. He's powerful, not invincible.

Not infallible.

A single, decisive flick of his wand, and he cuts a bunch of flowers at the base of their stem. It's a challenge to cut with such precision, but Jade has always enjoyed challenging himself.

[canicide]

"Three for each student, assuming they don't mess it up." Heine glances back to make sure that Curtiss is following instructions. Satisfied that he's at least no longer yanking the flowers out of the ground, he goes back to staring out into the trees.

Another branch breaks. Heine lets his mind empty out, just listening and waiting, basing his next action on instinct alone.

He casts a spell (Cescensum!) that knocks back the first creature that tries to charge into the clearing. That riles whatever else is waiting, but they're warier now.

"Some kind of dog." He absently rummages in a pocket for a plastic zip bag that he throws at the student. "Put them in here."

[alittlemirror]

"How many students?" He watches as the creature goes flying back. It looks like Professor Rammsteiner has fast reflexes, but Jade isn't really comfortable entrusting his safety to someone else. He'll put the flowers into the bag, but that's as far as he'll follow Professer Rammsteiner's instructions.

The second the flowers are safely tucked away, his wand is up and pointed at the shadows. "We really should get rid of these first."

[canicide]

"However many are taking the class. Maybe fifty."

So that's a hundred and fifty flowers, at least, which means Heine thinks Jade should really concentrate on that rather than their imminent encounter with aggressive wildlife.

"I'll deal with it." Just get the stupid flowers.

[alittlemirror]

"I don't trust you," he states. Simple. Factual. He's close to going on the offensive, but he'll give Professor Rammsteiner one last chance to convince him otherwise.

[canicide]

Students are supposed to trust their professors. At least, that's the impression Heine gets, and he's a little annoyed by the fact that Jade doesn't.

(Or maybe he's just offended that Jade doesn't think he can handle it.)

"Then we'll just be out here for longer." Heine sighs. "Faster you finish with those flowers, faster we can go back."

There's another, louder growl, but it fades into only silence a moment later.

[alittlemirror]

For a few long moments, he stares at Professor Rammsteiner from the corner of his eye. Is it worth ignoring him and pushing ahead?

No, probably not. He's not interested in unnecessary violence and besides, the growling had died away. If there's a time to collect the flowers, it's now.

One hundred and fifty. He doesn't bother with finesse this time, just slashes and swipes, sending large swathes of flowers hovering into the air. A few stray petals flutter to the ground, their glow dimming; Jade ignores them. What's a few ruined flowers? He has plenty more. He sends those into the bag with a wave of his wand, then continues to "pick" the flowers, working as fast as he can.