Myth Class: Vin/Brier/Darius/Keela/Nadya/Gia/Marcos

[Shava]

Osiris had spent the majority of his week figuring out what his classroom was going to be styled after on that day. He had to figure out how everything was going to layout within the classroom. How was he going to find his way around and how were the students going to find their way around? Well that would be their own choices when they found themselves staring at the entrance to a very intricate maze that they would have to get through. He had the thoughts of the minotaur in his mind lately and this is just perfect for what the students could learn.

As he walked through the maze herself he could hear the growls and deep roaring of the minotaur he had in the center of the maze. He passed her wand over the few torches that he passed to light them with an orange fire that would flicker with the fake wind she had conjured. The room would feel like it was much larger than it was, like it was outside, with harsh winds, and at night. The ceiling had the yellowish tinge of the sun going completely over the horizon which added to the creepiness of the air.

Just looking down the maze corridors that he passed he made him want to shiver so he wondered how the students would handle it. This class day wasn't for the weak hearted and they should feel a bit scared especially when the sounds of the minotaur reached them. The walls shook with a groundshaking force as he turned one of the corners finally after about ten minutes of walking. The center of the concrete maze.

There was grass, withered looking grass. On top of the grass there were chipped white garden tables and chairs strewn about for the students to sit at. On top of each table there were teapots and little finger sandwhiches that were quick snacks. He did like to feed his students and make sure they were okay after having such a rigorous kind of class.

When looking beyond the strewn about tables there was what looked like a gazebo in the center of the furniture. Within the gazebo there was a barred creature that stood in the center of it, around which, there was a platform for her to walk around. This was one of his many informal classes which he loved to do.

The air in this portion of the room there was close to no wind and a bit of a muggy feeling, adding to the fog that now began to seep from the corridors, masking the ground. The sky had turned from the yellowish hue to a very dark blue with close to no moonlight appearing through the clouds. The hooting of owls, the snarling of the beast, and the howl of the nonexistent wind surrounded him as he stepped up to the beast.

"Well, they are in for a fun class now aren't they?" He questioned with a chuckle before turning around to the blackboard that was suspended within the air. He held up his wand again and began to write on the board,

Today we will be learning about this beast, and the maze. Can any students enlighten me to what beast this is? Any extra information would also be very appreciated. There will be points for all students who speak. However do not repeat the same thing.

When he was finished he slipped his wand behind his ear and fluffed his hair which was in his usual mohawk and turned to face one of the directions in which the students would begin to come through. When he heard the first sounds of footsteps coming through the maze he jumped from his spot and transformed into a lithe snow leopard before landing on the railing of the gazebo in which he paced around waiting for his students.

[Shava]

Turning the corner, Darius walked to the door of his father's classroom with his bag over his shoulder and opened it, but froze looking inward. the room stretched away and he knew in a moment this was supposed to be some kind of test. Knowing his father's sense of humor and knowledge gave him and his older sibs an advantage here, but not by a lot. However what most people didn't realize about Darius is that he was a genius level intellect at figuring things out that fit patterns and orders; while a maze was a stretch, he had a much better organized mind for figuring things like this out. Stepping inside, he stepped to one side and looked carefully at the wall. A few other students walked in, stammered a second while he thought and then hesitantly began inside the maze, talking far too loudly.

Carefully, he put his feet on the small ledges and made his way up, only able to because of Vin teaching him so much about climbing the smooth walls of Hogwarts and he found that knowledge gratefully needed now. At the top he held the edge only long enough to look and peer around, getting an idea of what it looked like. Those heading inwards to the middle looked to be heading into the worst of the tangle, but the outside way looked like it went the long way around. Dropping back to the ground carefully, Darius dusted himself off and turned tapping the wall dead end to his right first and ducking to his left as he did so, missing the burst of spray which shot out of the wall to the right (a normal ducking spot) which turned the wall pink where he would have been standing. So, no secret door.

Rolling his eyes at his father's sense of humor, he turned and walked down the first maze part and turned left. he moved quickly and without hesitation following the outside wall as best he could at each intersection. The maze rocked and felt cold and clammy but he ignored these, his wand lit as he also knew his father; if there was something here besides traps, it was stuff even his youngest student could handle and avoid. A few times he saw wires he left alone and stepped over, but otherwise ducking as he passed corners seemed to do the trick. He only climbed the walls once more to peer over and see he was nearly along the wall of the central space. Good enough. Back down he continued (too young to have learned the point me spell already) and after what seemed like about fifteen minutes, he arrived in the center area, still hearing shouts and screams at the sounds of the shaking maze.

He was the first to arrive it seemed.

Seeing the leopard, Darius walked over without hesitation and said softly "Nice shaking effect, Father," and scratched him behind the ears before looking at the beast with a frown for a moment. Walking over to a table he sat his things down as he glanced over the board's directions. Tapping the teapot nearest with his wand, Darius pulled out his notes and laid them down with his book, stashing the bag below the table. Sitting down he poured tea and took a sandwich tidbit, eating while he thought about the beast. He'd wait till others arrived first so it didn't seem he got in just because he was one of his father's get. Sipping, he warmed his hands with the teacup; he had always thought the minotaurs were smoother somehow and not quite as ugly as this and it surprised him.

[

[Shava]

He figured that if there was any class his girlfriend looked forward to the most, it had to be Mythology which touched on stories and fantasies of generations gone by. So when he got there first from the last class they didn't share, he was sure to wait for her. When he saw her coming, his scarf from her was out with her name clearly visible and he smiled holding out a hand for her as she approached, intertwining his fingers with hers without a second thought. His welcoming smile was better then words, but he said it anyway just because he liked saying her name. "Well well, Ms Giana, so glad you could join me here today! Shall we attempt a class together?"

With a big grin he opened the door to let her in first and froze, taken aback. "Whoa! Oh man, what has he got for class today...?" as he led the way inside letting the door shut behind them. A look at the tall walls and he shook his head; climbing was one thing, but this was a teacher maze; that meant the challenge was more to the mind then to the body. "Ha, and class is at the middle of this I bet. Wonder what he does about people arriving late if they are lost in the maze?" Walking forward a bit, he tapped the walls until they got to the first intersection and then looked both ways. Both went a little distance and then turned again.

"I'm going to assume you didn't read any good maze solving books before? Or are there any? I always understood it helps to see the pattern but I don't know anyway of doing that here except climbing which doesn't appear to be too easy." His eyes were looking up at the sick looking sky when the shake came and he grabbed her around the waist, holding her close so she couldn't fall or stumble. As his eyes grew wide he heard a loud bellow that was clearly no human being! "Whoa! Oh man, he overdid the special effects on this one! Any ideas of what you want to try Giana?"

While he had heard the stories of Greek Myth, he had only remembered there was one about a maze and a monster, not what it was or how they got in and out. To him mazes were most often hay bales and you could push your way past those or climb out on them.

[Shava]

In a talk about Darius with his Wife's sister Brier, Vincent walked to their joint class and opened the door barely hesitating as he saw what was inside. Shaking his head he grinned at Brier saying "Dad's been playing again, nutjob that he is." A glance to the right automatically seeing the pink and wet looking patch of wall he pointed. "And it's trapped too. I bet Darius set that off. Dad knows we expect him to hide shortcuts for himself and he set a pink dye trap. So, no easy sneak throughs." He paused thinking for a moment then said "Mind if I take the lead? I've got an advantage here since it's dad and he does love tricks."

He walked down to the intersection and choose left without much hesitation. "Watch out for trip wires I think and anything odd on the walls which catches your eye. Most people choose right automatically when faced with decisions so I think we'll avoid those for a first choice and then choose right if we can for the next just in case. I remember him talking about how he had someone choose left every time and he had a special trap set up for the fools..." He was sure there was one for those who chose right as well. The next few turns he found himself following what felt like the limits of the outer wall. Wasn't their something about how some mazes worked best to follow the long way...?

"Anyway, I think Darius probably got inside first. He is often early to dad's classes and he has a mind for patterns and order. You already saw that in his Potions work, he's good-- Okay, he's brilliant at things with patterns, it's people he has the most issue with." He continued to choose ways that led away from the center, and they could hear other students in near parts of the mazes cussing over dead ends and such. "It might be because people are too random for him to follow easily. You may need-- oops dead end, backtrack." They went back to the last turn and repeated using the other option as they kept moving swiftly, stepping over a few trip wires she spotted along the way.

"What was I saying? Oh yeah, you may need to think of logic a lot with him," the path that he choose continued to follow the outside wall with only a few wrong turns all short dead ends easily fixed, "I think what ever makes the most sense to you in a social situation he won't end up picking. He's never been good with that stuff, but if you make suggestions that lead that way I bet you can steer him right a bit, you know?" He thought once about the fact he might be giving someone like Brier too much of a manual for running his brother, but he didn't hesitate long before giving it all to her anyway. Darius needed guidance. He was too easy to use for another purposes and despite the fact Brier was a Slytherin she still seemed solidly the right person to him at least. If his instincts were wrong, oh well, but he was willing to bet he wasn't.

Stopping her suddenly at the edge of one turn he pointed down and there was a slight line covered by some spilled sand. "There, knew it. Probably a pit into a trampoline trap, he gets a kick out of weird stuff like that. Here," he reached over and caught her around the waist and swung her way over it, at least four feet farther along past a second line and then put his fingers in the wall crack and swung himself over. "Means we're getting close. He would only use silly traps on kids, but having one of those right before the end would certainly-- Ah!" They stepped around a corner and there was the clearing at the center. As Brier went ahead and Darius' face lit up on seeing her Vin contained a smile and walked towards the gazebo saying softly "Trampoline traps dad? Really?" He shook his head without speaking directly to the feline but he did roll his eyes and then go choose a seat. His father the jokster.

And a minotaur. Well that was to be expected, right?

Raising his hand as he read the board he spoke out loud. "It is a minotaur, a creature often described in literature as a half bull half man creature first commonly known through the Greeks. Although it may have been known earlier by the Minoans a culture near Greece but their writings and culture are still being studied and not fully public yet. The Minoans were known to worship a bull like diety so the Greeks may have been describing the Minotaurs as being from there when they created the name originally. Their story about the Minotaur is based on a palace from that same culture."

@brier

[Shava]

Giana had, as with everything else, considered her electives carefully. However, Mythology had caught her attention almost instantly. She had always been fascinated by the stories and beliefs of civilations past, so it had seemed only natural to fill the space this way. Finding out Marcos had chosen it as well had been the proverbial icing on the cake. The sight of him as she approached, wearing her scarf in place of his own and smiling as he offered his hand brought a warm feeling that lit her up from the inside. Lacing her fingers through his, she giggled. "We shall" She went to enter the room, nearly stumbling over him when he froze. "What is it Ma--woah!" The corridor was narrow, angled in such a way that there were only a few things it could have been. As they turned the first corner, she paused, a choice between left or right. "A maze" she murmured, mentally running through everything she'd ever read about mazes in mythology "or since this is mythology class I guess I should call it a labrynth."



Would the teacher's example resembling something from a prior myth? Or had it been made up from scratch. Pulling her wand out of her sleeve, she eyed the walls. Something toying at the edge of her thoughts. Labrynths in mythology were created for a specific purpose, and that purpose was to...Her eyes widened. "Marco....Professor Silver wouldn't put anything....live in here...would he?" His question about late students was lost as he mentioned maze solving books. "Actually, there is a story in Greek mythology about a maze of sorts that was used as a holding cell of sorts for a..." She looks nervously around again, "Minotaur" They reach the first intersection and she nods. "I think climbing is out. We could try a defodio (digging) spell" she points out, "but I'm not sure how well it will work on concrete." Tightening her grip on his hand, she looks both directions. Her instincts said to go right, but should she go with them or against them? She'd had Professor Silver before, and she knew it was unlikely getting through the maze was the only challenge.



Gia heard the roar and her eyes went impossibly wide as the color left her face. "I-I'm n-n-not sure those are sp-special ef-effects M-M-Marco" Surely he wouldn't put a dangerous mythological creature in the middle of a bunch of students, would he? She took a deep breath. "W-we n-need to h-hurry, b-but we also n-n-need to be careful." The eerie atmosphere, no doubt intentional, was doing nothing for her nerves. Taking his hand again once she'd regained her bearings, she nodded to the right, "lets g-go." Barely thirty seconds later she felt a string snap, dousing her in something too thick to be water. Pointing her wand at herself, she cast a drying charm and a scourgify, but something still felt strange. She caught a flash of pink out of the corner of her eye. Running her fingers through the ends of her hair, she realized the mixture must have been dye. Sighing, she shook her head, "c-clever" she paused for a moment. "Watch for wires." Another turn, and, not wanting a repeat performance she turned to Marcos, "left this time?"



A movement in her peripheral vision caught her eye, thinking at first it was another student she let it pass, but when it happened again she grabbed Marco's arm. "Hang on, I think...I think the walls are moving." As they slowly approached, she realized it wasn't the walls, but a series of interwoven vines that seemed to have a life of their own. Herbology...herbology...she thought quickly...moving vines... "Lumos Maxima" she said firmly, pointing her wand at the center of the movement. The vines shriveled back, reacting to the sudden burst of light. "Devil's snare" she told Marco. "Apparently we've got to watch our feet and the walls." For the first time, possibly in her life, Gia wondered if she might have been in over her head in this class. They continued for a couple of minutes, managing without mishap until she caught a glimpse of dim light a different color from that in the passages of the maze. "Marco! I think that's it!" she pointed excitedly, but in her excitement forgot to watch her feet, dragging him with her into some sort of trap which felt like rubber under her feet. Startled at first, she giggled at the sight of him bouncing with her. "You...look...ridiculous..." she managed between giggles.



When they finally landed, finding a place to sit was the easy part, though she eyed the food as though wondering if it might be trapped as well. "Good job, love" She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "That was...sort of fun." Terrifying, but fun. Looking at the board, she raised her hand after the other boy spoke. "According to the Greek legend, the Minotaur was eventually killed by Theseus, one of the mythical heroes of Athens. It was also known as Asterion meaning ruler of the stars after the semi-human form assumed by Creten God Asterius." She looks proud of herself, both for remembering the information and for surviving to tell it.

[Shava]

Brier had taken the class mostly because she thought Professor Silver was hot, not that she'd have ever shared this information with anyone, much less her brother-in-law. She had been discussing Darius with Vin when they arrived, and she peeked past him when he spoke, noting the corridor and shooting him a look. "Playing...right" Playing, when connected to the Silvers or Silver-Moons could mean any number of things in Brier's experience. A good number of his siblings were Slytherins and near her age. It was enough to make her nervous, and grateful to have Vin around. She looks to the patch of wall and her fingers immediately go to her hair as a panicked look crosses her eyes. "Dye?" She wondered if she could get away with skipping class for the day. She glanced at Vin. Oh right, Head Boy and all. Salazar! She smirks at the thought of Darius with pink hair. "Hey, that's not fair, doesn't your hair resist things like that?" Not like hers which was light enough to take and hold whatever color got thrown at it indefinitely, especially if the dye had magical qualities. She nodded, stepping back to make way for him. "By all means" she agreed, "lead the way."



She followed close behind him, and when he mentioned trip wires her eyes went automatically to her feet. "Trip wires" she murmured, "got it." How exactly was she supposed to watch her feet and the walls? Still, she had to try right? "He's got an...interesting sense of humor doesn't he?" It was the polite way of putting it in Brier's opinion. This was bloody twisted! A glance down and she found a wire which Vin had missed but which she'd been about to step into. Stepping over it, she grinned to herself. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. "Sounds good, you're definitely the expert here" she acknowledges. She'd have done cart wheels through the rest of it if he convinced her that was what it took to escape unscathed. She smirked and shook her head, "I don't want to think about what your dad would consider a special trap" she answered, noticing a patch of the wall that glowed an eerie blue color. "Um...Vin..." it started to glow brighter and rather than wait for Vin's judgment, she rushed past him, tripping over a wire as she went. She felt it snap, and as it did so a gold powder was released into the air. She sneezed, but other than the sudden difficulty seeing clearly, she didn't feel any different.



"Oops" she murmured, pausing long enough to let him get ahead of her again. She nods, glad for the distraction. "Right, because people don't follow patterns. At least...not logical ones." A small smile as she thinks of the last time she'd worked on potions with Darius a few nights before. "He is brilliant" she agreed. She was so focused on what he was saying that she nearly ran into him when the path cut off. Taking a step back, she eyed the walls around them. This would, she decided, be an awfully bad time to be claustrophobic. She followed him around, trying to keep track of her surrounding area and what he was saying at the same time. "So like, create patterns in social situations for him?" From a theoretical standpoint, it sounded easy enough, but in practice...tricky stuff. "I think so yeah" she'd have to give that some thought later. "People can be tricky no matter what" she allowed, "so he's probably got the more useful skill set anyway." If it was social things he had trouble with, Brier could help him with that. Moreso, she realized, she would enjoy doing so.



He stopped her and she froze on the spot, glancing down to where he pointed. "Nice catch" she complimented, only slightly startled when he grabbed her around the waist. It wasn't until she was going over the wall that she caught sight of her hair, which had gone sky blue in place of its natural blonde. She was still reacting to his realization when Vin found his way over. "Its BLUE!" she held it out in front of her eyes in disbelief. "As in...as in BLUE!" How in Merlin's name was she going to get this out before next class. She had Madden in her next class for Merlin's sake, what was he going to say? She was distracted briefly as they reached the end of the maze. She remembered then, a story Keela had told about having her hair turn a similar color on a visit to Vin's, but that had been an accident, not on purpose. She sighed, but managed a small smile for her brother-in-law. "Thank you for helping me get out in one piece." She spotted Darius and smiled, relieved, maybe he would know how to get the stuff out. "Hi Dare" she took the seat next to him. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this.." She held up her hair, "would you?"

[Shava]

She giggled as she took his hand and he beamed, at least till he saw through the door. It wasn't till he had said maze that her words caught his attention. "A labyrinth? That words sound rather more dangerous then maze, Gia..." As they walked in she spoke about live things and he shrugged. "Plants maybe? I don't know, something that wouldn't wander I imagine if he wanted to really catch someone off guard, but nothing really dangerous I hope." As she spoke about the minotaur some memory clicked and he spoke suddenly inspired. "Oh yeah!" He snapped his fingers of his free hand.

"Right right, at the center of a maze and it involved royalty or something like that. I kind of remember that... " She spoke about the hole-punching spell and he shook his head. "Nah, too small a holes it would take a long time with the thickness these walls look like..." With the roar and his grabbing her her stumbling over syllables was back, he noticed, but then her words got through and he swallowed. "You don't... really?" His face turned focused, frowning till she stepped forward and he jumped forward to be near if he needed to protect her from something. He heard the snap and looked down till the hiss which he auto jumped to the side and thus only got the shoulder of his shirt dowsed with pink dye.

A look at her hair and his jaw dropped open. "Giana! Your hair..." Eyes wide he nodded, vowing to keep his eyes downwards from now on. "Did you feel a wire? I heard a snap... So wires set off traps, good to know. Man o man..." When she asked he nodded firmly, watching both ahead and down. "Yes, left seems safer for some reason." They took that left, but the next turned into a dead end and they had to go right. She saw the movement about the same time he did. "I see it." She of course being smarter figured it out first while he was still going "Oh let's see the leaves are like-- Oh. Damn you are smart."

Then she gasped about the exit and he looked up and thus missed the line they stepped over as they both fell and hit something he recognized nearly immediately! "Ha! It's a trampoline! Here--" he started to turn her as they bounced, but his eyes were caught by her chest as they went up and down and for a bounce he couldn't stop his eyes before he tore them away to look at her face fully and ignore the fact her skirt was going up as well. When they were mostly stopped he said "Here, go to the side just a moment..." Getting in the middle he bounced several times hard, scrunching up to push his weight lower then he transformed as he un-scrunched and leaped for the edge, getting half his tiger form out and with claws pulled himself up scrambling easily.

Changing back before anyone could see him, he glanced around, and then leaned down on the edge and reached her arm, pulling her up and getting an arm around her waist. "There we go! Your brains my muscles, eh?" He grinned at her face and Gripping a wall rock, swung them both over past the closing trap. Walking into the cleared area he pointed at the minotaur in it's cage as they headed for a table, and seeing what he assumed was the professor remembering he had some sort of form he could become. Distractedly hoping the Professor had not seen him in the maze change, he flushed when she kissed him and quickly turned to kiss her back. "You were great, Giana! I can even deal with pink hair," he said with a grin and then heard Vin giving an answer out loud while Gia added to it. Patting her on the leg, proud of her, he reached for his bag and pulled out his stuff for class, sure it was only in a place in Hogwarts where anything like this would happen.

[Shava]

It was, in a way, interesting sitting here quietly listening to the sounds of people shouting, screaming girl sounds at the shakes of the maze, and not a few gasps at the minotaur's bellows. A few students entered in ones and twos and he thought the single ones looked a bit more pale from the ordeal. And then he saw Vincent enter and he was about to wave when he saw who was with Vin and his eyes turned to her lightening up. He had nearly forgotten she had this class as well! As one of his extremely few friends (okay the only one) outside of family, Darius had only recently managed a whole conversation with her.

He needed to tell Vin that; he would be proud of him he was sure.

As she came straight to him (and why did he feel proud of that? It didn't make sense he would be proud she picked him out of the group...), he could see she had fallen into one of his father's more recent practical joke powders and had gotten parts of her hair turned blue. His father, Ashlyn, and Seth were the worst of the practical jokers in the family always pulling stuff, not that the magical dye worked on their hair. Actually, she didn't look bad with copper flame blue for hair, but her reaction said she wasn't happy about it.

He nodded to her question and dug in his bag as he said "It's one of dad's tricks, it doesn't work on our hair, but it does on others. Here, I can fix it..." his father didn't know that Darius had found a mix which seemed to negate the effect, but then again Darius worked with anything which caught his curiosity and negating the effects his family pulled on each other was always going to be useful. "It will wear off in an hour, but there's a quicker way." Pulling out a brush and a lump of wax and his wand, he stood and stepped behind her.

Holding the wax and the comb together he muttered a jinx charm and began brushing her hair and where he brushed the color dissipated quickly and the wax turned sky blue slowly till he had almost all of it out. Sitting back down in his seat and setting the piece of blue wax down he caught his father's eye without expression and said "There you go, Brier, the last bits will fade out in an hour but that's most of it." He didn't offer to help anyone else in class, but then again it helped to have the right friends, didn't it?

[Shava]

He laughed silently. "Yeah, dad loves practical jokes and nothing works on our hair at home so last year he came up with this stuff for dyeing everyone else's. Oh he's a stitch," he said with sarcasm though he was smiling. "Darius would know about it and I only see a normal spray there so I bet he guessed the direction of it." Of course it wasn't fair, but he wasn't going to make exception for it either. "Don't worry about it, stuff is just temporary, doesn't like do it for a whole day or anything. But pink is just wrong." Her comment about sense of humor made him shake his head in amusement.

"Well if you know Ashlyn, she and dad share the same sense of glee in jokes. Mom was and apparently always was erratic about what she reacts to, but throw in the sense of humor and it gets pretty wild at home sometimes. I am expecting tricks more then traps, like things which would seem amusing to him." He led the way for a bit, stepping over some wires and watching when he could. She got too far ahead of him and got her hair colored which he found amusing, but didn't say anything since there was nothing to be done about it. Her sister would find the story amusing at least! "Bless you!" He nodded as she grasped what he was saying. "Yep, people can be weird and erratic. He doesn't get that easily."

A smile that she agreed he was brilliant; he was definitely getting a good vibe off her.

"Exactly, he just needs someone to point him the right way through stuff sometimes. Give him books and he's got it all under control, but people are hard for him to read." And he was likely to react the wrong way, say, paralyzing them in their sleep later or making them extremely sick in revenge, not understanding how bad it could lead to reaction wise. Vincent was a bit worried about Darius after he graduated, but there was only so much he could do to. As she reacted to her hair after the pit Vin smiled and said "Yeah, you fit in with us now in a way! It's not permanent though so don't worry about it much, really. I'd enjoy it while you can so dad doesn't get as much giggles out of it if I were you."

Walking into the center he saw her head off to Darius and chose his own place to sit and answer the question partly, carefully making sure he left plenty for others to get. A surprised look when Darius began combing her hair and then amused when he realized the little bugger had figure out how to end the trick-- and she had gotten him to do it for her! Thinking Brier had a right to feel smug right then, he nodded at Giana's answer and Cosette's, glad to hear he wasn't the only one paying attention.

@brier

[Shava]

Nadya had taken this class for exactly two reasons: One, Professor Silver was probably the best-looking in professor in the entire school in her opinion, and two, at the beginning of the year, Giana had insisted it 'would be fun' to have a class together, and proceeded to plead incessantly with Nadya until she gave in. Still, there was no denying Professor S was a strange one, though to be fair, not many people could pull off a pink Mohawk like he could. She reached for the doorknob and turned it slowly, a feeling of dread she couldn't justify stealing over her as she registered the passage on the other side. High walls made up a narrow passage, Professor S had been doing some redecorating, she thought wryly, as she stepped inside, jolting when the door closed soundly behind her. She turned the corner only to notice a new passage way which seemed to have several options for where to go next. A maze she realized, and then sighed as she turned to go back the way she'd come. Except, when she reached the door to the class, it was locked on her side, and she raised her wand. "Alohamora" she murmured touching the tip to the knob. No dice.

Since she'd cut her arrival so close, she doubted if anyone was still in this thing at all, much less anyone who would be willing to help her. She gritted her teeth, certain it couldn't be as easy as navigating the stone passages. The sky above her was eerily colored, definitely spelled to give someone the creeps, and it was working, Nadya was getting more claustrophobic by the second. She moved quickly, wondering wherein the catch would be. A few seconds later, after reaching a dead end and having to turn back, she got her answer. The feel of something thin snapping against her ankle made her freeze. What had she just...? Was the passage getting smaller? Or was that her imagination? No....no...the walls were definitely moving, closing in on her. She ran back through the passage as fast she could, wide-eyed. She reached one of the central passages, only to turn back and realize the passage looked exactly the same as before. Had that been magic? Or her own imagination? She wasn't sure, but regardless she wanted out of this bloody thing.

Taking another way, she resolved to watch her feet more closely, if there were any more wires, she'd know to avoid them. She searched as she passed through the walkway, listened for voices, any signs she was getting close to the way out. Surely there was a way out, I mean, Professor Silver did actually want his students in class didn't he? Of course he did. Mumbling something about 'too-hot-frigging-sadistic-nutters', she took another turn. Light, she realized, at the end of this passage, and without thinking, she ran for it. only to trip over something about half-way through, and then she started to bounce. Once, twice, three times. What in Merlin's name was this mess? Freedom was so close she could taste it, but she was stuck on this bloody thing. Frustrated, she tried to focus on a solution, when one arose, she straightened, locking her knees and angling so as to launch herself across the thing. On the third bounce, she felt solid ground as she landed harder than she would have liked on her bum. She flinched, but upon the realization she was now almost out, she let it go.


Moving carefully and keeping a close eye on her feet, Nadya had rarely ever been so relieved as she was to see the gazebo and the board. Her sister was talking, know-it-all that she was, Nadya thought with a tinge of affection. Her hair was an odd color, and Nadya thought it must have been one of the other traps she'd missed. Marco was there already also, sitting close to her with an almost protective air to his posture. She sat down at an empty table in the back, pouring herself a cup of tea and then sniffing it suspiciously. It smelled normal. Ah well, what the hell? She was thirsty. She raised the cup with grace that would have been surprising to anyone who didn't know her history, or for that matter, hadn't met her father. She took a long sip, warm and soothing, it helped her relax, though she didn't even try for the extra points, while she might have had something she could have used, she generally left the kissing up to the Ravenclaws like her sister.

[Shava]

He listened as he paced for all his students as they were in the maze. There were some screams which folded his ears back and some cries but all he could do was pace until they got there. He was trying to teach them to not fear what Professors put in their rooms but also at the same time not to take too many risks because things could happen no matter where they were or what they were doing. None of his traps were dangerous they were just meant to startle or slightly cause a discoloration of some sort of clothing, hair, or skin. Though at the end of class he would make sure to take off all incantations or spells that had plagued people while they were in the maze. When he found the first child trickling in, he tilted his head and made a smile the best he could in his cat form as he realized it was his son. He rubbed his head into his hand and nodded as his son spoke to him, of course he had gotten it down. Most of his children and nieces and nephews would be able to go through the maze without much of a fear. When he noticed the next few children beginning to filter in he sat on his haunches and listened to all they had to say, especially when his son Vincent came in and immediately spoke to him.

It was nice to know that all of his lessons stuck with them as they grew older, especially one like this.

He hissed as he finished and stood to pace as more students began to spoke, he hissed at all of them when they finished speaking. Even as his youngest daughter in school fell in he didn’t run to her or pounce because she had to get over it with whatever she happened to see. He walked passed her and flickered his tail along her head before weaving through the now wavering students. As he walked passed one of the entrances he found his middle daughter Ashlyn coming through the door and he backed away as she pointed. He went to duck but found his fur being coated in the color bomb he had created. He chuckled slightly before flying away towards the gazebo but not before being startled by Luca one of the injured students coming from the door. He pitied him in a way but would not allow him to fail this course because of his actions. He looked away from the student and sat nicely as more students patted his head, like Bastielle and more students spoke. When it seemed as if the last student trickled in he jumped up into the air and transformed back into himself.

”Hello my students.” He spoke softly grinning, before waving his hand towards the beast. ”You are correct for those who spoke about this beast. 10 points to Ravenclaw, and 5 points to Slytherin for speaking on your houses behalf.” He chuckled as the chalk began to write on the board. ”However I am going to be taking 5 points from Ravenclaw, and 5 from Gryffindor for students who have not showed up from class without an absence.” He shrugged his shoulders and paced. ”I hope you all have learned from this first experience with the maze especially about how the Minotaur felt while he was trapped in it.” He looked over to the certain grouping of students that spoke.

”You may all help yourselves to the food and drink, it is to refresh you after such a lesson. However I do have another question which is simple… What have you learned from the maze? What lessons have you possibly taken away from it that you may have not known before?” He tilted his head. ”And please, I know you have learned that I like to prank my students but that… that is not the answer.” He chuckled, winking at them before stepping up to the gazebo and settling himself on the railing. He allowed a tendril of devils snare to wrap around his arm as he looked out at them.

”Points to all students who have original answers if that is to give you more of a decision to answer darlings.” He chuckled again before pausing and holding his hand up, the free one.

"Actually, hold that thought. I have someone to introduce to you... Our new Assistant Mythology Professor. Please give her a round of applause. Introduce yourself darling to those who do not know you, I will allow you the honors." He beamed as he looked over to the door to the side of the maze.

((NOW; Do not post until the Assistant Professor has posted. Thank you.))

[Shava]

]Though she officially had her own quarters and office as of two hours ago, Keela had spent the majority of the time since she'd arrived the day before contemplating how she wanted to tell Vin, well, a few things actually. A small smile as she pictured the look on his face when she walked in. She rarely got one over on him, a side-effect, she supposed, of growing up with so many siblings, and also, she grudgingly admitted, of being a Slytherin. It had taken some doing, especially to work things out so quickly, but she owed her in-laws hugely for helping her get back into the country and securing the teaching position for her. Her supervisor at the Weekly office had been surprisingly understanding, though she supposed the circumstances helped. A hand fell over her stomach and she smiled to herself. 'Twins' she thought with a pang of nervous energy. She supposed it was to be expected, she and Vin never did anything half way.



She stood by the door, listening to Osiris as he spoke, waiting for her cue. When it came, she took a deep breath before stepping into the classroom. Having been warned about the set up, she was only mildly suprised by the elaborate scene. When she reached her father-in-law, she beamed up at him, gratefully. "Thank you" she murmured softly, and then louder as she turned to the class. "Hi everyone, my name is Keela Silver-Moon. I feel like I've had class with most of you, and the rest of you are relatives" she grinned, no sense glossing over the fact, everyone knew she was married to Vin, and those who hadn't did now. She found her sister and Darius, Ashlyn and Anne before finally working up the nerve to meet Vin's eyes. "I'll be shadowing Professor Silver, but I'm also available if you need help with an assignment or have questions." Out of things to say and nervous about what was coming, she stepped back. "And without further ado..."



She darted a look at Osiris that clearly said 'save me now please', before focusing on Vin again. She wanted to just announce it, right there in front of everyone, but...not a good first impression on her first day as an assistant, and probably not the best way to go about something so personal anyway. Still, the majority of the people who needed to know where sitting there staring at her in shock. Well, except for Darius, she rather doubted he was shocked by anything. Ah well, at least she hadn't had to navigate the maze like the students, perks of graduating, she thought with a grin. She realized suddenly that there was nothing stopping her from simply crossing the room and telling him. She stood, walked to his table and grinned. "So...you're probably wondering what in Merlin's name I'm doing here..." She began softly, and then bit her lip, giving him a sheepish smile. "And there's a very good explanation for that..." She bent down and whispered, "we're having twins, love."

((Let the posting commence))

[Shava]

Vin had shaken his head at his father's hiss, knowing the man was both enjoying the lesson's reactions as well as concerned about those having issues with it. There was a deeper lesson here then most would suspect he was sure. He watched when the others answered and then class began and his father transformed, something Vin had always thought his father enjoyed a bit too much sometimes. Such an attention type and showing off power. He was smiling as his father spoke, nodding at the points both on and off, not something he was too worried about at that moment really.

He did not however answer his father's new question, thinking for a minute about what he might have learned. Well, beyond that Brier had little knowledge about avoiding hair traps. He smiled slightly at that and glanced at the couple; if they ended up dating, he would be quite surprised if Darius wasn't under her influence in a small amount of time as even now he helped her with things without seeming to question it. She had a fine figure and he already knew her sister was super smart and very desirable. Darius could do a lot worse, especially as she didn't smell of a power hungry type.

A person he could trust his brother to. Yes, he liked this idea quite a bit.

Ash was too wild and rather irresponsible like mom, Seth was near the same. Darius couldn't be trusted to depend on those younger then him, he needed a firm hand for a guide to keep him from the kind of trouble they all feared he could end up in, even Ash. It might be one of his last family responsibilities, but it weighed heavily on his mind. Darius was both a danger to others and himself, his logic about things a bit too cold for even the chillier DE's from the past he was sure. It was in this frame of mind he heard his father say something about a new TA and he glanced as someone stepped into the room--

It took him about four steps of hers before his mind caught up and his mouth opened as if to say something, watching his wife walk in. He had about enough time to think 'What? Wait--' as he watched her, eyes getting wider till she began speaking. And then met his eyes part way through as his mind ran through all manner of emergencies and disasters which might have happened to bring about such events and it was as he wondered if mom was okay, his eyes registering only pleased and smug feelings from his father as she began to walk his way. About halfway to him a wild possibility entered his head which he shoved aside, half rising at her approach and unsure speculation appearing on his face with a sliver of doubt still as she got to him and spoke.

But the whisper caused his knees to tremble once before his face caught up to his brain which was going 'OH MERLIN MERLIN MERLIN DID SHE JUST SAY TWINS?!?!?!?!' as he caught her with both hands around her waist saying suddenly loudly "DID YOU JUST" before dropping to say nearly as soft as the quietest whisper with a tinge of delight in it "say twins??!!" As her eyes confirmed it, he stepped forward, sliding a hand under the small of her back as he (totally forgetting the people around them) dipped her back a small degree and kissed her with a fiery passion of delight, suddenly overwhelmingly wanting her as the only center to his conscious thought, to inhale her as best he could at this very unexpected news!

It was a moment before his head caught up to him with thoughts like 'FATHERDARIUSCHARANNEBRIER-- oh wait people! Class!' and he let her straighten with him, suddenly blushing as his eyes found his father's with the question of escaping this class which suddenly confined him to a behavior which was the least of his interests at this moment with his mind bouncing around like a ping pong ball in his skull at all he wanted to say right then.

@brier
@keela
@osirs