On The Hunt Closed

"Kirin are…" Kazuo paused to think about how to describe the creatures. "They often look like stags but they are scaled like a dragon. They have a fiery mane and great antlers. They say a kirin's face is full of serenity. Kirin would never attack another living creature but if they need to protect themselves they can breath holy fire." He shrugged. "I think the comparisons come from their representation of purity."

He listened to Eirian explain the unicorn blood curse as they walked, frowning at what she had revealed. "What if you drank the blood but didn’t kill the unicorn?" He asked. "Are you still cursed if you didn't know it was unicorn blood?" They were oddly specific questions. "Could a unicorn give blood willingly, like they give up their hair for wands?"

As they approached the boathouse hallway, Kazuo glanced around, noting that there were no other students in this area. "I'm more worried about annoying that squid than the mermaids… Though I would be happy to see either one." He admitted as they reached the door. He reached out to try the handle, finding it locked. "Too much to hope that the door would be unlocked." He pulled out his wand, waving it at the lock and quietly speaking the charm. "Alohomora~" The soft click of the lock drew a smile to his lips as he turned the handle once more, this time with success.

Interacting with @Eirian Blake

Though there were no students in the area, a long-limbed young man happened to be perched on a high window sill that he must have had some help getting to - whether magically or by climbing. He had a pencil, parchment, and clipboard in his hand, but the sound of approaching voices in the hall caused him to cease and look down.

"Hmm...kirin, unicorns, and merfolk, oh my."

Upon spotting the pair of students chatting with each other as they walked, he grinned and stuck his pencil behind his ear. He also clamped his teeth around his clipboard before carefully beginning his descent with both arms and legs free. Eventually, he had reached the ground, took his clipboard from his mouth to tuck under one arm, and was making swift strides with his long legs to catch up to the students. He managed to reach them just as the boy used a spell to unlock the door on the way to the boathouse.

"Actually, I'd say the squid is friendlier than the merpeople of the Black Lake Colony," he leaned down to tell them in a quiet, conspiratorial volume, still unable to conceal his obvious amusement. "But seeing as anyone who makes the mistake of assuming the opposite isn't likely to ever be seen again...I suppose it makes sense you wouldn't know that."

@Kazuo Shimada & @Eirian Blake

"My mother believes they are real. She always tells me 'There is no story that doesn't bear a seed of truth'. She has never seen one, though, and she says no one has seen one in a very long time." Kazuo responded with a shrug. "When magic is real, what is a myth, anymore? How do we tell the difference between made-up children's stories and folk tales about real creatures that are labelled 'myths' because of some ridiculous rules to keep magic hidden? If we take a rational approach, we must either consider that no creature is real until it has been proven to exist or that all creatures potentially exist until proven otherwise. I prefer the 'all creatures exist' perspective. Regardless of which, the necessary end result is a search for knowledge."

He slowly pushed the door open as Eirian gave her theory on the unicorn blood conundrum and it caused him to pause, a deep frown crossing his features. "But what if someone were tricked…?" He murmured the question out loud though he didn't expect Eirian to have an answer. In hindsight perhaps he shouldn't have verbalized his concern at all as it might lead to questions he wasn't willing to answer.

Yet she continued speaking and he took that time to push aside his dark thoughts and refocus on why they were here. Squid and mermaids. Not unicorns and dhampirs.

When a human is surprised, there is a range of reactions they might exhibit. Some scream, some freeze, some jump away, some lash out. Kazuo was not a screamer, nor was he the sort to freeze in place and he didn't have enough experience in being taken by surprise to even consider fighting as an option. So he skittered away from the sudden, very unexpected voice that was far too close. With the surprise behind him, he really had only one direction and that was to push open the door and take several steps into the boathouse before turning around, wand raised and eyes narrowed.

Upon the realization that the person who had crept up on them was an adult, he immediately lowered his wand, head tilting slightly as he studied the man. It didn't take long to realize that they had been stealthed by none other than the Caretaker. Well shit. As the words Kit had spoken caught up to him, he arched a brow.

"Paine-san." He gave the caretaker a respectful bow which was, perhaps, an odd reaction to getting caught in places they shouldn't be but it wasn't as if they could deny their presence and if he had overheard their conversation, it certainly wouldn't be hard to decipher their intent. So he simply accepted the adult's presence and chose to ask questions instead. After all, Kit hadn't immediately yelled at them or even ordered them away from the boathouse door and that had him curious.

"If the mermaids are dangerous, why does the school permit students to visit the lake at all instead of making it off-limits like the forest?" He asked. "Also, why are they dangerous? Do they not like humans?"

Interacting with @Eirian Blake
@Kit Paine

"Ooh...now I know you two were up to no good if you're greeting me as formally as that," Kit teased with a grin upon being bowed to and addressed as 'sir'. "Please, just call me Kit. And since you haven't really done anything technically against school rules as of yet, I can't exactly punish you, can I? So, whatever you intended to do, you can relax."

He eyed the boathouse beyond Kazuo, but didn't move to try to get the boy out of it. Instead, he considered his question before answering. "Ah, ah, ah...I didn't say they were dangerous," he pointed out. "Not that they aren't, but few creatures aren't under the right circumstances. I just suggested they aren't as friendly as the giant squid. And yes, they're not generally fond of humans since wizardkind and merfolk tend to have something of a rocky relationship."

Kit tilted his head, thinking. "I believe the Merfolk Colony of the Great Lake has a relatively peaceful relationship with the inhabitants of Hogwarts Castle, but they don't generally make themselves known to them. To find one, you'd have to swim pretty far down and it's cold enough to deter most students even during the summertime. I doubt they'd treat you well if you came to visit for no other reason than simple curiosity, as if they were animals to be viewed in a wildlife nature preserve." Then he turned his attention to the Slytherin girl and chuckled softly.

"What would you have them do instead?" he inquired. "Burn down a forest that's probably been standing for thousands of years prior to the castle being built? The Forbidden Forest and its inhabitants were probably here long before Hogwarts was. I'm thinking Hogwarts staff would like to believe most of their students are intelligent and life-loving enough to avoid wandering around prohibited areas. We also have a groundskeeper for a reason." He winked at her then.

@Kazuo Shimada & @Eirian Blake

Kazuo paused, eyes narrowing as mild confusion fixed itself upon his face. Though not all of the Professors understood his generally formal behaviour and its cultural origins, they all seemed to appreciate it. Yet the caretaker reacted as if formality was something to be suspicious of. Well, considering the cultural differences and the obvious fact that he had caught them on their way to doing something slightly more troublesome than merely unlocking a door, he supposed it wasn’t an entirely wrong assessment. It was unfortunate because that meant his generally polite demeanour around the other adults wouldn’t give him any leeway with Paine-san.

“Wizardkind seems to have a rocky relationship with all kinds of magical beings around here,” Kazuo replied to Kit’s observation of the merfolk, passing over his commentary on not having a reason to punish them. Like Eirian, he was hardly going to implicate himself any further by admitting to their intentions. He sniffed disdainfully at Kit’s suggestion that he would view the merfolk as some sort of spectacle. “They aren’t animals. Is that how wizardkind views them? I would rather talk to them. Learn about their culture and their magic. Where they came from and what they know about the magical world. Presumably, they have more capacity for conversation than the giant squid who seems to take delight in tormenting students… if the rumours are to be believed. Unless that’s what you meant when you said the squid was more friendly than the merfolk?”

Kazuo tucked his wand away as Kit addressed Eirian’s question, considering the equally unsatisfactory answer. “May I rephrase the question?” He asked, though he didn’t wait for an actual response before asking it. “Why would they build a school on the edge of a forest they would have known would be full of dangerous creatures? Four important and powerful wizards - presumably even wise - who decided that schooling children beside a forest full of dangerous creatures?” Kazuo’s voice was full of disbelief. He considered his next words, knowing that he risked offending the caretaker if he chose to be brazen yet curious to see how Kit would respond. “It seems to me that the Professors aren’t very invested in the well-being of the students at all, either those old dead ones who started this school or the current roster.”

Interacting with @Eirian Blake @Kit Paine