Plant Alert, Closed Options

[Kian Callaghan]

Kian had finally made it outside. After days of being cooped up inside staring out the windows or getting thoroughly lost, he had finally found his way out to the lawn. Taking a few deep breaths of fresh air, Kian made his way across the lawn, basking in the summer sun as the cool fall wind swept across his face. The weather was holding up just fine.

With no destination in mind, the first year wandered around the grounds, happy that he had so much to explore over the next seven years. Obviously he wouldn't be going into the Forbidden Forest; it had the word forbidden in it and while that might tantalize most people's curiosity, Kian was sure that it had that name for a very specific intent and purpose. but that didn't mean he couldn't walk along the edge and enjoy the trees.

While gaging if he grab a hold of a low hanging branch, Kian spotted something much more interesting: the greenhouses. Little known fact, Kian was a plant enthusiast. He enjoyed identifying plants and telling people what type of weed they had just picked. Losing interest completely in climbing the tree, Kian broke into a jog, making his way to the greenhouses to explore their contents.

None of the plants looked familiar, exciting the Ravenclaw to know end.

[Pippa Butterswor...]

Pippa was lost.

Again.

Even though she and simon had taken a tour of nearly every inch of the school grounds, Pippa still had not yet learned her way around. She meant to go for a walk down the path that lead her to the lake, but somehow she got turned around and was now wandering about by the school’s grand greenhouses. The small Ravenclaw walked about the outside of the glass structure a time or two marveling at the things she saw through the glass wondering if it was safe for her to go inside.

On her third lap around the building she decided that she ought to just head in and maybe check out the sites from inside. She opened the large heavy door and slipped into the cellarium. It was warm and the air was moist. The room was filled with the fragrant scent of green and exotic blooms she did not recognize. A whisp of vine with big red blossoms inched about the wires strung overhead wrapping itself about the thin metal and unfurling bright green leaves with deep purple veins in them.

“Creeping Bottlebrush,” Pippa read on the small plaque that was placed beneath the the base of the vine. The small girl cautiously moved along making sure she didn’t wander into anything else that might be moving about.

She came to the end of the row and turned down the next. She grinned as she saw a familiar form and she called out to the boy, “Hiya Kian!”

[Kian Callaghan]

Bending over in front of one of the plants, Kian crinkled up his nose. The pungent odor of horseradish wafted into his nose. Only problem was those weren't horseradishes, they looked like flowers with giants purple leaves. The plaque in front of the plant didn't give a clue as to what it was, but Kian figured it couldn't be that dangerous since he wasn't dying or anything.

He had entered one of the greenhouses almost immediately and had been sifting through the plants, identifying a few muggle plants, but most were completely foreign. Kian didn't get excited about much, but plants were most definitely not apart of that. Being outside so often had given the young lad an affinity for plants.

Unfortunately he didn't take up hunting and was more than startled to hear his name called out. Flinching a bit, Kian straightened up to see Pippa. Smiling brightly, he waved at his fellow Ravenclaw. "Hey. Isn't this place great?" He made a sweeping gesture with hands, trying to convey just how amazing this place was.

"You like plants?"

[Pippa Butterswor...]

Pippa returned the boy’s wave and eagerly skipped over to the dark haired boy. “This place I so neat!” she agreed as she stopped a few feet from the boy with a hop. She and Simon had walked past the greenhouse on their tour, but had not actually stopped inside. It was too bad really, he would have been very impressed with what he saw inside. Maybe she could talk Simon into coming with her another day.

The little blond faced the plaque that Kian had been looking at and then took a glance at the flowering shrub they stood in front of.

"You like plants?" he asked her.

“Oh… sure I suppose,” she said and grinned at the boy. “My mum took me to an arboretum once… it was very pretty, but they didn’t have anything like this in there,” she giggled.

“You want to go look around with me? I saw something that was moving already and it was kind of scary,” Pippa admitted. The last thing she wanted to do was to wander onto something that she might get tangled or caught up in. Who knows how long it would be before anyone would find her if that happened.

[Kian Callaghan]

Kian was sure that most arboretums didn't contain a single plant that was growing in this greenhouse. He couldn't be sure though since he had only ever been to the one up in the hills where the cooky lady ran the gift shop. They mainly stuck to plants indigenous to the area, most of which weren't that interesting. This place would be packed with muggles all the time if it were up on the hill instead.

"Yea lets go. How fast was it moving?" Kian moved into step with Pippa, peering around the plants in hopes of catching the slithering plant.

He liked having the company. And Pippa was great. She didn't make him talk too much and wasn't too pushy, which was very nice. The slithering sound of vines came all too quickly on his left. He was fairly certain they wouldn't keep deadly plants at a school full of kids, but Kian was not certain.

Obviously they had giant squids in the lake and who knew what lay beyond the tree line of the Forbidden Forest. But those were both things the school couldn't control. Things in forest or lakes that weren't magical were just as deadly and couldn't be controlled by wizard or muggle. Putting dangerous plants in a greenhouse was something that could be controlled.

"Just... don't touch anything." Kian stepped away from the plants a bit, hoping that distance would be useful if they were attacked.

[Pippa Butterswor...]

“All right then,” Pippa beamed and stood a bit taller as Kian volunteered to keep her company and explore the greenhouse. It was big, and there were too many unusual things in it that the little Ravenclaw would rather not face alone. However, Kian didn’t seem much braver than she.

How fast was it moving? he asked.

“The plant? Ohh…” Pippa put her finger to her lip and thought about it for a moment. “About like this,” She said and inched forward in several slow sliding steps. “It kinda creeped like an inchworm …see?” She explained as she continued to demonstrate the motion a few more times and then bounced the rest of the way back beside Kian.

“I think we both could take it if it decides to attack,” she assured him, “Unless it brings some friends, then we might be in trouble. But He’s back that way,” Pippa pointed behind her. “If we go this way, then we probably won’t see it, kay? Come on!”

The small girl lurched forward and latched her caught Kian by the wrist and gave him a bit of a tug, pulling him along with her down another aisle of plants. She led him a few steps of the way in and released her grip when she was sure he’d follow. The plants down the row they went down looked rather mundane. There was something like a daffodil, but it was bright red. Beside them those were other bulb related plants, an orange type of tulip that would glow bright orange and then dim again. Further down was a shrub dark green with small purple flower buds that were all closed tightly but on closer inspection, had something dripping from them in small drops.

“What do you supposed that is?” Pippa curiously asked aloud. She reached a finger out to touch the leaking fluid.

”… don't touch anything.” Kian warned her as he moved away from the flower beds.

Pippa did not heed his words and poked at one of the flower buds. The bud burst open and spewed out a glob of dark purple goop onto the ground.

“Gross!” Pippa giggled and poked at several more blossoms.