Airspeed
Backdated June 3rd.
The final days of classes and examinations each year were always stressful, but the sixth-years had it easy. No OWLs, no NEWTs, no worries - if he did alright this year, it wouldn't follow him around forever like either of those. That meant there was enough time in the day to enjoy the company of friends - friends like @Jake Morris, who George had invited to aid him in an experiment.
"Right, so... I'm going to go up around there, around the castle, and then right back here. First go around is just to see how long it takes - a benchmark," George explained to Jake. He'd provided him with an hourglass that measured one minute, along with a scrap of paper and a quill to note down the approximate time of the journey. The weather was good - not windy, so it wouldn't skew the measure - and the risk of airborne predators trying to catch him was less during these hours.
He stretched his arms and legs out, leaning over to touch his toes. He was unsure if that actually mattered - should he stretch after shifting into a bird, too? - but still went through the ritual of it out of habit. Better not to pull a muscle, bird or otherwise, on the landing.
"Have you thought about what you're going to do after seventh year?" he asked. He normally considered Jake to be an ageless being, forever trapped within the walls of Hogwarts as long as he continued looking so baby-faced, but the reality of several of his friends graduating and disappearing from his life had hit him hard. It was especially difficult this summer, knowing who was going. "Flip the hourglass, answer when I'm back!"
He took a running start and jumped, leaping up high. His flowing robes suddenly shrunk around him as he took on the shape of a raven, clad in black plumage, rushing up into the sky on his charted route. The wind rushed under his wings and he kept his head forward, maximizing his speed as he went around. He wondered if he was any faster like this than he was on a broom... yet another experiment that needed to be performed. Jake had about a minute of time to think before the raven dive-bombed toward him again, shifting back into George just before he touched the ground and staggered to a stop. "Time?"
"outlandishly gay for boys"
Stamina: 10 / Evasion: 12 / Strength: 3 / Wisdom: 13 / Arcane Power: 7 / Accuracy: 12 [color: #632d0b]
Airspeed
@George Henry
DID stretching as a boy help you fly as a bird? Jake wondered, as George went through his pre-flight warmup. You’d think the thing you’d want to stretch was a wing, wouldn't you? But of course, you didn't have a wing. So what then? It really kept you from stretching the most important part.
Jake pondered on this, as he held the equipment that George had handed him, ready to be a diligent research assistant. Could it be, he wondered, that George’s arms WERE the wings? He tilted his head and watched George touch his toes. It was true that a bird had two legs, and two wings. Was the transformation that specific? It could be...There wasn’t really any way to test it though. Unless, if George was to break his arm or something. Would he then transform into a bird with a broken wing?
Unfortunately, Jake was shaken from his musings by being asked about his future plans. The question was a familiar one, but one that had only grown more meaningful over time. Sure, every kid got the 'what are you gonna be when you grow up?' question, but it was only now that it was starting to become a reality. Many of Jake's friends had already graduated Hogwarts, making their way out into the world. Jake's sixth year was almost up, with only one more to go. Seventh year was it. And then? The real world. And he'd better know exactly what he wanted to do when he got there. Thinking about it gave Jake a lot of mixed feelings. An anticipation both exciting and terrifying. He felt a little dizzy at the prospect, and he wasn’t sure if that was the good or the bad parts.
“O-oh, well…” he started.
But before he could even finish stammering out an answer, George gave him his task, turned into a bird, and took off.
Actually, that was probably a pretty good plan. Jake sometimes did better with time to think. He began to wish that everybody could just fly away after asking a question, only to come back one minute later and get a well-formulated answer.
Oh, crups. He'd forgotten all about the timer. Jake fumbled the hourglass over to start the timer, about…five seconds late? Sure, let’s go with five seconds late.
Really, Jake had always known EXACTLY what he wanted to do when he ‘grew up’, ever since he'd gone to Hogwarts and realized that it existed. Now, according to wizards, he’d be ‘grown up’ in just a few short months. That was pretty hard to believe, though George had turned 17 months ago, and Jake was pretty sure it hadn’t seemed to change him that much. The whole thing seemed a bit of a sham, to be honest.
Jake flipped the hourglass when it ran out, and shortly after he looked up to see the incoming raven, ready to dive-bomb his way back to Earth. He tried to suppress the tiny pang of jealousy at the way George soared. He'd always talked about becoming an animagus too, but when it had come time to put his talk into action…he just hadn’t gone through with it. He wasn’t really SURE why. When he thought of it, an anxiety would take hold that always just made him want to change the subject.
George looked at him expectantly, and Jake looked at the hourglass, taking his best guess at how much had run out. "Hm, pretty good. About, one minute and five seconds...er, ten seconds," he estimated.
It was pretty weird having a conversation on pause, but Jake HAD been thinking about his answer.
“Uh, yeah, so I was gonna say…you know how Alan's been working as a research assistant? Well, he has, and I've been owling him all these questions. I mean, he's been sending me some things, and telling me all about it. Like, just recently, he's been getting to work with this injured Augurey. He's been helping him with his wing, and helping him with a feeding plan, and a care plan, and all these things. And he's really helping him! He’s an assistant to a magizoologist, a real one. You know I always wanted to BE a magizoologist, but I didn’t really know how. So you know, like I said, Im sending Alan a lot of questions, and he’s letting me know things, and then I’m sending questions to the questions…” To be honest, Jake hadn’t really thought very much on if Alan was going to get burned out from answering questions. There was just so much he wanted to know. Sure there were magizoologists out there, and you could probably write to them if you tried, but Jake never felt like you could just write to a STRANGER, randomly, for no reason. Alan, was a friend, a real person, somebody that he knew and who could answer and who was actually doing it.
“I mean, I know we still have a year, but I’ve really been thinking about it. Uh, and I know it can be dangerous, but I think I can uh…I think I'd be ok with that. If I was helping creatures, you know? And so I figure, maybe Alan can help me figure out how to actually do it." Did magizoologists need assistants for their assistants? Jake had almost asked Alan that, but then thought better of it. "What about you? Do you know what you're gonna do? I mean, not just what you WANNA do but what you're REALLY gonna do. You know, like...like how?” Jake asked, hoping George got what he meant by the difference.
He thought about it, and then flipped the hourglass again, since he was sure George was never just going to test it once. "You can have a minute to think too, if you want."
DID stretching as a boy help you fly as a bird? Jake wondered, as George went through his pre-flight warmup. You’d think the thing you’d want to stretch was a wing, wouldn't you? But of course, you didn't have a wing. So what then? It really kept you from stretching the most important part.
Jake pondered on this, as he held the equipment that George had handed him, ready to be a diligent research assistant. Could it be, he wondered, that George’s arms WERE the wings? He tilted his head and watched George touch his toes. It was true that a bird had two legs, and two wings. Was the transformation that specific? It could be...There wasn’t really any way to test it though. Unless, if George was to break his arm or something. Would he then transform into a bird with a broken wing?
Unfortunately, Jake was shaken from his musings by being asked about his future plans. The question was a familiar one, but one that had only grown more meaningful over time. Sure, every kid got the 'what are you gonna be when you grow up?' question, but it was only now that it was starting to become a reality. Many of Jake's friends had already graduated Hogwarts, making their way out into the world. Jake's sixth year was almost up, with only one more to go. Seventh year was it. And then? The real world. And he'd better know exactly what he wanted to do when he got there. Thinking about it gave Jake a lot of mixed feelings. An anticipation both exciting and terrifying. He felt a little dizzy at the prospect, and he wasn’t sure if that was the good or the bad parts.
“O-oh, well…” he started.
But before he could even finish stammering out an answer, George gave him his task, turned into a bird, and took off.
Actually, that was probably a pretty good plan. Jake sometimes did better with time to think. He began to wish that everybody could just fly away after asking a question, only to come back one minute later and get a well-formulated answer.
Oh, crups. He'd forgotten all about the timer. Jake fumbled the hourglass over to start the timer, about…five seconds late? Sure, let’s go with five seconds late.
Really, Jake had always known EXACTLY what he wanted to do when he ‘grew up’, ever since he'd gone to Hogwarts and realized that it existed. Now, according to wizards, he’d be ‘grown up’ in just a few short months. That was pretty hard to believe, though George had turned 17 months ago, and Jake was pretty sure it hadn’t seemed to change him that much. The whole thing seemed a bit of a sham, to be honest.
Jake flipped the hourglass when it ran out, and shortly after he looked up to see the incoming raven, ready to dive-bomb his way back to Earth. He tried to suppress the tiny pang of jealousy at the way George soared. He'd always talked about becoming an animagus too, but when it had come time to put his talk into action…he just hadn’t gone through with it. He wasn’t really SURE why. When he thought of it, an anxiety would take hold that always just made him want to change the subject.
George looked at him expectantly, and Jake looked at the hourglass, taking his best guess at how much had run out. "Hm, pretty good. About, one minute and five seconds...er, ten seconds," he estimated.
It was pretty weird having a conversation on pause, but Jake HAD been thinking about his answer.
“Uh, yeah, so I was gonna say…you know how Alan's been working as a research assistant? Well, he has, and I've been owling him all these questions. I mean, he's been sending me some things, and telling me all about it. Like, just recently, he's been getting to work with this injured Augurey. He's been helping him with his wing, and helping him with a feeding plan, and a care plan, and all these things. And he's really helping him! He’s an assistant to a magizoologist, a real one. You know I always wanted to BE a magizoologist, but I didn’t really know how. So you know, like I said, Im sending Alan a lot of questions, and he’s letting me know things, and then I’m sending questions to the questions…” To be honest, Jake hadn’t really thought very much on if Alan was going to get burned out from answering questions. There was just so much he wanted to know. Sure there were magizoologists out there, and you could probably write to them if you tried, but Jake never felt like you could just write to a STRANGER, randomly, for no reason. Alan, was a friend, a real person, somebody that he knew and who could answer and who was actually doing it.
“I mean, I know we still have a year, but I’ve really been thinking about it. Uh, and I know it can be dangerous, but I think I can uh…I think I'd be ok with that. If I was helping creatures, you know? And so I figure, maybe Alan can help me figure out how to actually do it." Did magizoologists need assistants for their assistants? Jake had almost asked Alan that, but then thought better of it. "What about you? Do you know what you're gonna do? I mean, not just what you WANNA do but what you're REALLY gonna do. You know, like...like how?” Jake asked, hoping George got what he meant by the difference.
He thought about it, and then flipped the hourglass again, since he was sure George was never just going to test it once. "You can have a minute to think too, if you want."
@Alan Vanes info written with his input.