An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
Rainbow ribbons were easy to spot against the stark white of the snow -- leading all the way to the Savannah. Everyone was cold after completing that trek in the show, but were welcomed by a huge obstacle area that was not only sheltered from the weather but had enchanted. It was warm, grassy, and a welcome place regardless of its purpose.
But its purpose was quite spectacular.
Professor Fairburn stood energetically by the Beech tree, waving and guiding students who arrived to find out what this mysterious "Hopstacle" even was all about. It proved to be a pun, as what awaited them was a straight obstacle course. And at the starting line was a huge amphibian creature at about five feet tall.
'Dragon Toads,' Professor Fairburn proudly introduced them. 'And the name isn't just for their looks; they are, in fact, close cousins of actual dragons. Rumoured to grant wishes, these magical creatures were considered deities in ancient cultures.'
They had the appearance of a scaled bullfrog -- but quite slimy. They waited politely along the starting line, which was about 10 - 15 Dragon Toads. The course was straight, covering four obstacles along the way, and ending in a conjured pond that may as well be a small lake.
The Savannah had never looked so big, than to have its space almost completely filled this way. The enchantments alone must have taken all morning, yet remained a surprise for those who arrived -- as the snow beyond the event area remained foggy.
'These are the most Dragon Toads to be in one area in over... oh, a good few decades at least. Be kind to them, and you'll have yourself a friendly buddy for this course. They love challenges,' Professor Fairburn said. 'Good luck!'
This Obstacle Course is simply a challenge for your character to complete; not a competition or otherwise. Use the guidelines below, and have fun! This event ends in less than 2 days.
This entire event is Free-RP, including the Dragon Toads. They have a range of personalities, but are generally just playful hoppy boys (they're all male) who enjoy a challenge. They won't be hurt by anything you do, and are generally good-natured and playful. But if you're rude or mistreat them, they will throw you off and spit acidic gunk at you so please avoid that.
Approach a Dragon Toad as you would a horse; getting to know each other a little first, and not showing fear. Then your task is to climb on and stay there; not easy, considering how slippery they are and there's nothing to hold onto. Riding them is about the same as riding a horse as it jumps over a fence; but the motion is far less secure without a saddle or grip; expect to go flying backwards or forwards off the Toad often, if not properly braced.
This course requires 4 posts to complete; 1 obstacle per post. If you fail a task or fall off, just try again; no need to start over. The only goal is to finish the obstacle course. It doesn't matter if you have to stop and adjust or so on.
The purpose of this event is to RP the heck out of this scenario -- making it funny, disastrous, and just overall putting your character through all sorts of mishaps for the single goal of making it to the end.
And at the end, the Dragon Toad will leap into the pond (finish line) -- soaking your character through. Thankfully, Professor Fairburn will be waiting with a warming charm.
Obstacle 1 -- vines grown into an archway. Suspended by a string from the middle is an apple. However, it's magically at a height that requires you to stand on the back of their Dragon Toad, and balance there. Retrieve the apple with your mouth only, take a bite, then feed it to your Toad.
Obstacle 2 -- hovering snowballs. A stretch of the course is filled snowballs flying around unpredictably. Make your way through it while getting hit by as few as possible. On impact, they burst as if thrown at you. The snow instantly melts; your Toad enjoys the energy refreshment, at least.
Obstacle 3 -- limbo. Your Dragon Toad flattens his belly to the ground, and you must stay on his back while he wriggles under a low beam. You'll need to flatten yourself to fit under too. If you knock it off, it resets and you must try again.
Obstacle 4 -- a basket of coloured rings. At a distance, there's a pole. Successfully throw a ring onto the pole to move onto the next target. There are four in total, alternating left and right of the course.
Once you've cleared all four obstacles, your Dragon Toad slides on its belly to the finish line... which also happens to be a pond. Getting soaked isn't optional. Unfortunately, they're also very happy there; you make need to convince them to float you to the edge, or simply swim out yourself. Make sure to include an OOC note of which skill you choose (see rewards below).
Please keep in mind that the ultimate challenge is staying on your Toad throughout this; we expect you to have balance issues, fall off, or even get thrown by accident. Your Toad will listen to your commands if you have good communication and buddyship, but some might get confused or go the wrong way; they're not the brightest.
They're invested in completing the course; if your character wants to quit before entering the pond, they'll use their rubbery and sticky tongue to bring you back. Make sure to only start this course if you fully intend to finish it.
Each participant receives 400 Marauder exp and 200 Creatures exp.
Those who complete the course receive exp to a skill of their choice, except the Marauder or Potions skill. 100 exp is given per level away from maxing the chosen skill. Example: if you're on level 9, you get 100 exp. If it's level 4, you get 600 exp. If you have no level, you don't get 1,000 exp; just whatever amount it takes to reach level 1.
Completing the course also earns a Fire Rune and a Frog Card.
Post by Kody Ashworth on Nov 2, 2023 0:59:41 GMT 10
As soon as Kody heard about the Hopstacle Course that morning he knew he had to take part. Just something about the name spoke to him and now he was glad he had made the choice to attend.
Freaking Dragon Toads.
He was vibrating with excitement at the sight of such beautiful creatures that he almost missed anything said to them by Professor Fairburn. He wanted to pet and coo over every single Dragon Toad but held back.
After all, he wasn't the only person excited about this event and Kody knew it wouldn't be fair to try and hog more than one Dragon Toad.
As soon as they were free to do so, Kody approached one of the Dragon Toads and marvelled over how beautiful it was, "You're stunning, oh just look at you! Your beautiful scales, your strong legs and your gorgeous eyes."
He approached with care and crouched a little so he could offer the Dragon Toad a stroke on the forehead. It seemed receptive to his touch and Kody beamed, "You're the best boy, huh, aren't you? Oh, you beautiful creature you."
This was the BEST day ever!
Kody probably spent longer than necessary patting his chosen Dragon Toad and making sure it was happy, comfortable and content. He didn't even dare climb atop it until several minutes of cooing and admiring had passed.
"Alright, I've never ridden one of you before..." Kody pat the Dragon Toad a few more times and then attempted to climb onto its back.
"Woah, okay." The Dragon Toad had a slippery back and Kody couldn't really decide what he was supposed to hold onto. He managed to hook his fingers onto some knobbly scales and it seemed like the Dragon toad didn't mind either.
Alright, this was a start.
"Come on boy, let's head to the first obstacle okay?" Kody urged, giving the Dragon Toad a gentle pat on his side. He wasn't sure how else to urge the creature to move but this seemed to do the trick.
Only as it lumbered forward, Kody tumbled backwards off the back of it. He let out a squeak of joy as this happened as it was rather fun and he wasn't really hurt. It helped that he fell onto luscious green grass and not into cold snow.
Kody was laughing as he climbed back on and managed to move a few feet before he tumbled off the side this time, "Almost there!"
At least the Dragon Toad stayed in place when he fell off and didn't go back to the start. That would have made his progress a lot slower -- not that Kody would have minded. It would have meant more time with his Dragon Toad.
"Come on boy, look, there's an apple for us to get." Kody pointed and the Dragon Toad let out a low croak before it advanced. At least Kody sort of had a feel for how the Dragon Toad moved now and could compensate by shifting his body as need be.
"I can't wait to tell my siblings about meeting one of you... I wonder if any of them will come along too... Ezra would love this!" Kody chatted away to the Dragon Toad as they made their way to the archway. Thea apple hung from a string in the middle. Kody pondered the instructions for a second and then crouched on top of his Dragon Toad.
"Sorry pal, hope this is okay. Stay still okay? I'll get us a tasty treat!" Kody held out his arms and wobbled a little as he slowly stood up. He looked down and hoped his Dragon Toad didn't mind this. At the very least, he wasn't trying to buck Kody off!
He took a moment to adjust and make sure he wouldn't fall before he gingerly went for a bite of the apple. It slid off his face and swung back and forth. Oh, Great.
Kody chuckled, "Okay, I'll just need a second..."
Or several seconds.
Actually, make that several minutes. Kody tried to chomp the apple numerous times and came close a few times. But it would slip away or he'd misjudge how to bite it. Kody panted from the effort and sat down for a small break.?
"Phew, harder than it looks..." Kody tried to peer ahead to the next obstacle to judge how hard it was going to be while he patted his Dragon Toad. Were other people having a hard time too? It would be a lot easier if he could just use his hands!
"Alright Toadward, let's go again." During his break he decided to name his Dragon Toad, "We go this!"
Toadward gave out another croak of support and Kody stood up again. He flailed his arms a little when it felt like he was going to fall off but was glad to stay upright. He aimed for the apple and missed.
He tried again and it scooted over his teeth and swung again.
Kody stopped it swinging with his forehead which only hurt a little. He angled his head and took a bite.
This time he tasted apple! Kody threw his arms up in victory which threw off his balance and caused him to tumble from Toadward again. He landed in a heap but laughed loudly. He was still having fun and Toadward didn't seem hurt either.
"Here you go buddy." Kody offered the apple to the Dragon Toad. The creature used it's large tongue to take the apple from Kody and he giggled from how it felt -- now his hand was coated in slime! Kody grinned at his new friend and clambered onboard again.
"Enjoy your snack and we can head for the second obstacle when you're ready!" Kody cooed at his Dragon Toad.
Him and Toadward were going to be an unstoppable team!
He had heard about the course somehow. He couldn't really put his finger on where but there were whispers abound and that meant that he probably couldn't remember if he tried. Not that it mattered, really.
What mattered was that he was there. And he was excited.
Following the rainbow ribbons and dressed warmly against the snow, Giovi followed behind some others that were heading in the same direction and this... oh this was cool! Professor Fairburn was nice enough. He hadn't talked to her much as he didn't have a class with her but... she always seemed ok.
But there were giant things there!
He'd made it a point to want to learn more about magical creatures - his whole family was about horses and getting to know them. Breeding them, racing them. Horses made up his familial income his dad said all the time but... this was something else!
Dragon Toads. Oh... that was so cool! He stared, starry eyed at them with a twist of excitement. Oh, it was a magical creature and one that was close cousin to actual dragons!? Oh, wow!
Giovi was in absolute awe of these giant, majestic creatures. Huge toads that were a little taller than he was. They were, the Professor had said, friendly and Gio trusted that. She'd know better than he would.
Once set loose, he strode forward with some others, finding himself a toad that looked a little bit... rougher than some of the others. Slowly, as he would with a new colt, he reached his hand out to sniff. Did toads sniff hands? Would he be eaten like a bug? Oh goodness.
He wasn't afraid of it, however. Not when he was used to animals and earning trust. It was like he'd been born for this! Being from the family he was. It was a gleeful moment! New magical creatures and riding them? Be still his heart!
After a moment the Toad leaned it's great head down and tapped into Giovi's hand as he spoke mindless words about himself. Name. House. What he liked. How much he enjoyed creatures of all sorts. The toad got to hear all of it! Absolutely every little bit of it!
Eventually, after a few minutes, he was able to run his hand over the Toad's back and asked to hop (hehe) on.
This toad was interesting. He hopped in a circle once Giovi was on, holding tightly against his slick skin with a soft giggle. It was strange, really. His dad would find it hilarious that he'd ridden a toad like a horse. Of all the strange things! But he was excited about it. No doubt his dad would think it was cool, too. There weren't toads like this in the muggle world, after all.
Finally, when the toad hopped in a straight line, Giovi sat a little straighter, slipping backward before he had to adjust himself, cling tighter. The two seemed to get along pretty well considering the toad couldn't speak. It was so much fun! Hopping with a toad! Ha!
The first obstacle came into view and he glanced down at the Toad that he'd deemed Phillip. Because Prince Phillip was a Frog somewhere, right? Sure, frogs and toads were different, he knew that but Phillip the Toad was a prince all the same. And he liked to go into random circles which, really, was interesting.
Was his balance off or was he just a fun-loving? He didn't know! But either way it was fun! He leaned up, spreading his arms with a cheer as the wind hit him. Cold snow wind but wind and fun! He enjoyed every second of it!
The archway was upon them and he watched. It was too high to reach from where he sat but the toad seemed to be hopping slowly.
"You think we can get that?" he asked, not expecting an answer. But obviously that was the goal. Somewhere in the center was an apple. It rested stark red against white and green and he frowned slightly.
"Take it easy Phillip, I'm going to try to stand." easy. Easy! He had to take it easy! Or fall off. Which falling off was not a part of his plans.
But balance was easy enough. He'd dealt with moving horses, he'd ridden bareback, too. It was all in a day's work for his family! Even if he wasn't used to the slick back and tended to wobble some. But it was fun!
He crouched low as Phillip hopped, surging upward to grab hold of the apple at the same time as his Toad friend moved. He had to angle his face so that the apple didn't smack him in the nose but he was able to barely grab enough to bring the thing with him. It was awkward, made his jaw hurt a little, but when the two of them landed safely he had brought the apple with him and clung onto the Toad's neck to keep from toppling to the side.
Ouch.
But he tasted the apple so he'd won. He stayed against Phillip for a second before reaching up to take the apple from his mouth, tearing off the part he'd bitten and offered the rest to his new friend.
"You deserve this, buddy." he said through a mouth full of apple. "Awesome work, Phillip! Onward, my mighty steed!"
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Nov 2, 2023 4:37:37 GMT 10
MJ had come along to the Hopstacle Course as she was really curious to know what it would entail. She knew it was a play on the phrase 'obstacle course' but the hop part had her confused.
Her muggle way of thinking had her convinced they would have to tie their feet together and hop their way through it.
So seeing the enormous Dragon Toads was certainly better than her idea! She listened as Professor Fairburn explained how the event would work but she was keen to approach one of the Dragon Toads and see how she would fare with them.
"Hi there, hello. My name is MJ -- what's yours?" She checked to see if they had any kind of identification but didn't see anything. MJ felt it would be weird to have a companion Dragon Toad and he didn't have a name.
"How about I name you Falkor? It's the name of a very friendly and awesome dragon from a book I've read." She grinned and gave Falkor a pat on the head. He seemed to enjoy the attention and it made MJ miss having time to hang out with her Ferret, Woozle.
She attempted to get onto the back of Falkor but slid right off. MJ chuckled, a little embarrassed at her struggle and tried aghain.
Falkor didn't seem bothered by MJ attempting to get on his back and she wondered if Dragon Toads were regularly used for mounts by others... Though the lack of saddle or reigns certainly seemed like it would make it a challenge to stay on.
Perhaps it was some kind of sport in another country?
"Okay, this time!" MJ grinned and jumped again -- and did manage to get onto Falkor's back. She flailed when she realised there really was nothing to hold on to and Falkor took her being up there as a sign to begin.
"W-Wait!" He didn't seem to care as he hopped towards their first obstacle and MJ was left dangling off his side and clinging to him for dear life. Somehow they managed to get to the apple archway together and MJ let go, letting herself drop to the ground.
Her arms hurt from even that small journey.
"Thank you, Falkor." She said, feeling breathless but the Dragon Toad wasn't paying attention to her. The apple above them had his full attention and MJ giggled.
"You like apples? Okay, let's get you an apple." Part of her wished she had her satchel since she had plenty of apples stored in there. Still, she clambered back onto Falkor and tried to stand up and balance on his back.
This was certainly easier than clinging onto a hopping Dragon Toad for a ride and MJ felt her Quidditch skills really came into play and helped her out here.
She had played a game like this growing up for Hallowe'en -- her Great Auntie would pin string to the top of the door frame and tie the other end onto the stalk of an apple.
MJ felt she had this in the bag! There was a trick to doing it and she was ready to claim victory when the apple seemed to have other ideas. It took her more tries than she wanted to admit to getting a bite out of the apple but then it fell from the string and she was able to give it to Falkor.
"Here you go, sorry about the bite. I hope you still like it." Falkor opened his mouth wide and MJ laughed, tossing the apple inside and the Draong Toad crunched it up happily.
"Maybe we can have a small apple break before we continue." She hummed in thought, glancing around to see how much progress other students had made.
Post by Kody Ashworth on Nov 2, 2023 4:55:14 GMT 10
After the apple was devoured, Kody and Toadward were ready to venture onwards. He climbed back onto the Dragon Toad and clung where he could. Kody was enjoying the moments of riding the Dragon Toad and felt he had a good grasp on what to expect. He could even enjoy the scenery as they hopped along.
Or so he thought.
Toadward stopped suddenly and Kody flew forwards, off his precious Dragon Toad and face planted onto the grass, "Ow, why did you stop..."
He sat up and realised they were at the second obstacle and he could tell why Toadward was hesitant.
Flying snowballs.
Kody quickly got onto Toadward's back and studied the battlefield in front of them, "We have to be clever about this, yeah? We don't want to get hi--"
Toadward hurried forward and Kody let out a yelp as he hugged his Dragon Toad. They were smacked by two snowballs right off the bat but Kody was glad to see they didn't hurt and they also instantly melted! Nice!
And it seemed like Toadward actually enjoyed them too...? Wait, was he going faster? Kody was jiggled around and promptly lost his grip and fell off the back of his Dragon Toad again.
The cherry on top was the snowball smacking him on the back of the head when he sat up again.
Kody struggled against flying snowballs, trying to duck around them but being unsuccessful while he fought to get back on Toadward's back so they could continue. It seemed like they were only halfway across the obstacle at the moment.
"Come on Toadward, let's go!" Kody urged once he was back on and his Dragon Toad lumbered onwards but noticeably slower so he could enjoy the snowballs.
He didn't want to complain about how slow Toadward was going so Kody just endured it. He slipped off a few more times before they made it to the end but Kody was determined (or maybe just stubborn) to make it to the end on the back of his Dragon Toad.
When they did make it past all the flying snowballs, Kody let out a whoop and hugged Toadward, "Yay, well done! We did it!"
Now they were done with two of the four obstacles. Kody panted softly and motioned for Toadward to stop. He slipped off the Dragon Toad's back (on purpose for once) and decided to take a small break to catch his breath.
While he did that, Kody took time to pet and coo at Toadward and remind him how beautiful and awesome he was! Kody really did feel lucky that Professor Fairburn had arranged such a fun activity for them and now he was able to meet a majestic creature.
He was excited to write all about it in his journal later and, if his siblings didn't get a chance to experience them too, he'd tell them all about it later as well.
Kody patted Toadward one last time and then grinned, "Come on, let's go for the next obstacle!"
Mounted onto the Dragon's Toad back once more, they took off towards the third challenge.
Post by Alora Sagemore on Nov 2, 2023 5:04:37 GMT 10
Alora had heard about the Hopstacle Course only in name and where it approximately was located, but thankfully, rainbow ribbons lead the way straight to the event. Although, Alora would have loved to collect a ribbon and wear it as an accessory as they ribbons were indeed dyed in her favourite colour.
Dressed warmly in her Gryffindor accessories she approached the welcoming warm and snow-free event location, and couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the gigantic toads: Dragon Toads! Her eyes glowed.
While observing the toads, Alora listened to Professor Fairburn’s explanation. She hadn’t much interacted with that Professor before as she didn’t have any classes yet with her, but she decided she liked her. And she liked the toads.
However, while looking at them, Alora tried to remember what she knew about them. Had she ever seen one of them already on a journey with her family? Had she rode one? Or had she even rode other creatures before? Alora searched through her memories while watching the Dragon Toads.
Wait, they love challenges?
Alora immediately felt like one of the Dragon Toads would indeed be a great friend to her!
She decided on a big one with dark green scales and carefully approached it from the front as not to startle it. And decided it was time to train more her proper language. Kamari was so awesome when she talked like that, Alora still had sometimes troubles to do so. Well, mostly because she found it annoying and slow.
“Good day to you, Mister Toad! Might I introduce myself? I’m Alora Sagemore!”
That was a good start!
While announcing her name, she extended her arm towards the snout of the Dragon Toad to let it sniff her hand. Though instead of sniffing, it just pressed its snout against her hand. Alora smiled.
“Might I know your name?” She asked, but of course the Dragon Toad did not answer. Instead, it tilted its head as if to wait for her to do something. Alora nodded solemnly as if she understood everything.
“I see, you need a name. I give you one for today! …Ehm… I mean: I shall provide you with one! That’s better, right?”
Alora tilted her head while thinking, then her face lit up.
“Sir Bufo! How about – Would you accept that name?” She quickly corrected herself. This language part was hard! Why did she try that again?
The Dragon Toad, or rather Sir Bufo, croaked with content. Alora grinned.
“Thank you! Now that your name is settled, let me get saddled on you!” She giggled on her own joke.
Alora reached as high as she could and tried to grab onto something to heave herself upwards, but the toad was slimy and slippery. Wait, what was that?
She grabbed onto something hard, a few scale which were lifted up a tiny bit, just enough to get a few fingers under. With that, she was able to pull herself up.
The Gryffindor girl dragged her body over the back of the Dragon Toad, which definitely no one would have seen as impressive, her clothes now covered in slime. Well, it surely would be alright for today!
As soon as she was settled, she thrust an arm forward.
“Onwards, Sir Bufo!”
The Dragon Toad didn’t wait long and started to trudge forward – with such a sudden bouncing motion that Alora did not have enough time to even consider how to hold onto the toad, so she just fell backwards from the toad instantly onto the grass. Ungracefully. She hated it.
Quickly, hoping no one would have seen that, Alora stood up, climbing up Sir Bufo again. This time, she settled down herself properly first. Her legs pressed tightly to the toad, her hands trying desperately to find something to hold onto.
“Alright, next try. Let’s go – slowly!”
Sir Bufo started anew, this time with Alora staying on top of him. They actually managed to reach the first obstacle together!
What was that, a vine? Alora gazed at it, trying to determine what type of vine it was. Perhaps she did know it… Anyway, she simply loved it! And there was an apple as well? Which she had to retrieve? With her mouth?
Alora sighted. That didn’t bode well for her. She was not the best time regarding balancing on her feet…
First, she tugged her legs beneath her, kneeling on top of Sir Bufo. Afterwards, she slowly stood up. Well, she tried. But as soon as she pushed herself up with one leg, she tilted strongly to one side, she was about to fall. Noticing this and knowing she wouldn’t be able to prevent her fall, she instantly pushed herself off with both of her legs high into the air, making a somersault, landing with both of her feet on the ground, her arms stretched outwards to balance herself.
At least that had worked.
Sir Bufo croaked in admiration and Alora grinned.
“Thank you very much! Now, we shall try this again!”
Alora climbed up, got into her kneeling position and stood up again. Slowly. Real slow. Basically in slow motion. And she managed to do it! Alora was proud of herself.
Extending her arms again for balance, she stood on her tiptoes to reach for the apple with her mouth – and bit heartily into it.
Alora, knowing that she would not able to sit back down without falling, let herself slip down from Sir Bufo and walked in front of it. She finished her bite from the apple and provided Sir Bofu with the rest of it.
“Enjoy! And then we will challenge the next obstacle!”
Post by Ezra Ashworth on Nov 2, 2023 12:44:43 GMT 10
Ezra had been curious about the Hopstacle Course ever since he had read it on the schedule that morning. So of course, when the afternoon rolled around, he took off through the snow to find it.
The whole walk there his mind had once again been filled with ideas of what he could be heading towards. The one that he really hoped was true though? That a Professor was about to magic them into rabbits and set them loose on an obstacle course. That would be so much fun!
Energised with thoughts of getting to hop really far as a real rabbit, Ezra could not resist taking the last little step into the Savannah as a jump.
He jumped, landed, looked up, and burst into a giant grin at the sight of the very, very large frogs that were all sat in a pretty little line.
It was not getting to be a bunny for the afternoon, but play time with giant frogs sounded just as fun!
The sight of the creatures did make him wonder though. Would Kody show up? Ezra hoped so, he didn’t want his big brother to miss out on seeing the- Oh! There he was!
Ezra was ready to run over to him, to share the excitement, but the professor lady started to talk and it seemed like a good idea to listen to her. He didn’t want to miss finding out what they were doing!
He settled for simply waving in Kody’s direction before he turned to listen to what was being said. Naturally he bounced on his toes as he listened, too excited to get started to stand completely still.
The giant frogs were Dragon Toads! And they were related to actual dragons? They were basically wingless, hoppy dragons!
Ezra was not sure if he had ever heard anything so cool! No wonder they were once considered deities.
And they got to ride them! Double the cool!
As the Professor wished them luck, Ezra paused for all of half a second as he debated following Kody to attack him in a hug. The need to find a dragon toad buddy won out though and so, sure that his brother would not fault him for that, he darted over to the line of Dragon Toads to find the one that called to him.
“Hi!” He grinned up at the Dragon Toad that he found himself stopping in front of. “I’m Ezra! It’s really really awesome to meet you! You’re so cool!”
He really wanted to touch the creature, to stroke its big head and shower it in love, but he just about managed to hold himself back, wary about startling it. That was where his self restraint ended unfortunately, as he all but vibrated on the spot as he gushed at the Dragon Toad.
“Do you have a name? You probably do, right? Your toad-y family probably gave you one, and I bet it’s a super nice name! But..” he drew out the ‘but’ as he thought, his head tilted slightly as he considered the Dragon Toad.
“You can’t tell me. That’s okay! We can have nicknames! I’ll think of one to call you, and you can call me.. Well, Ezzie, that’s what my siblings call me sometimes. Oh! I really wish you could meet them! They’re the best! And I nearly got to meet one of your family the other day, so it would only be fair.”
The Professor had said that the toads were related to dragons anyway. That meant family, right? Cousins were super close!
“What should I call you.. Hmm.” He had to come up with the perfect nickname for his new friend. He knew that there was one, he just had to find it. “The Professor-Lady said that people used to consider you a deity.. Oh!” His eyes lit up. “Like the people mentioned in the star stories!”
He had it! The perfect name!
“Hoposeidon!” Ezra grinned, feeling rather pleased with himself. “Poseidon because I think he was a god of.. something, like you should be! And Hop because you're hoppy! Hoposeidon!”
Ezra looked up at the Dragon Toad as if he was looking for some approval for his naming skills.
The Dragon Toad seemed to consider the Ravenclaw boy in turn. Then, just as Ezra was beginning to think that it did not like the name that he had come up with, it leaned its large head down to press its weight against Ezra’s chest.
What was it-? A hug!
Ezra let out a loud joy-filled laugh and attempted to wrap his arms around the large head in turn.
“Hoposeidon it is!” He cheered. “Do you think we can do the obstacle course together now, Hoposeidon? It looks like a really fun challenge!”
‘Challenge’ seemed the right word to get the Dragon Toad’s attention.
Ezra suddenly found himself being nudged backwards from the hug as the giant creature wiggled about in its spot, apparently eager to begin.
“I take that as a yes!” Ezra laughed as he dashed round to scramble up onto the Dragon Toad’s back. Something that took the boy longer than he had thought it would, since it was very slippery.
Thankfully Hoposeidon seemed willing to wait for him to position himself, even going as far as to halt its excited wiggles to help out. With a bit of teamwork and determination, Ezra finally found himself sat atop the Dragon Toad.
“Forward!” He called out, his arm pointed in the direction that they had to go.
And then he nearly immediately faceplanted the toad's back as the first hop forward knocked him off balance.
“Oof!” he let out as he tried to wrap his arms around the creature's neck as much as he could to steady himself. Unfortunately there was a downside to a creature so large, and that was how hard it was to hold on.
“I’m okay, Hoposeidon!” Ezra called down to his new friend, not wanting to worry the Dragon Toad. It was not the toads fault that he did not know how to hold on after all. And at least he had not fallen off!
With more of an idea of how Hoposeidon moved though, Ezra did manage to brace better for the next one. Soon enough, he thought that he quite had the hang of it actually! He only faceplanted two more times.
Hmm.. He wondered if the Professor-Lady would let the Dragon Toad follow him home for the holidays. If Kody and him introduced the rest of their siblings to one too, then it would be a really neat way to travel home! And he could show his older siblings how to ride a Dragon Toad! Oh! And he could properly share some of his Hogwarts fun with his Auntie-Mum then!
Ezra blinked as they passed through a vine archway. They had reached the first obstacle!
“The first challenge, Hoposeidon! Look!”
All thoughts of kidnapping an army of Dragon Toad’s vanished as he took in what they had to do.
The first task seemed to be all about balance. He had to stand on the Dragon Toad’s back and reach up to catch an apple with his mouth. That seemed doable. Though..
“I have to stand on your back,” Ezra frowned slightly. He hoped that he did not hurt his friend. Someone standing on his back would probably hurt after all, so hopefully that was not the same case for the toad. “But look, you get a treat out of it if we do it! You like apples, right?”
Ezra presumed that the toads ate them if they had been designated as food for the course. But maybe his friend was different?
As he climbed to stand on Hoposeidon’s back, Ezra decided that he probably did not have to worry about disposing of their apple another way. Not when his Dragon Toad friend had its eyes glued to the apple above them.
“Got to hold super, super still now,” Ezra called down as he found his footing on the back of his toad.
If Hoposeidon decided that he felt wiggly again, then no matter how balanced he felt that was, Ezra would be taking a tumble. He didn’t want his friend to feel bad if that happened though, so he hoped that they could avoid an incident altogether.
“Nearly there!” He said to keep the Dragon Toad updated on their progress. The apple was so close! Just a little more..
And he proceeded to hit the apple at just the wrong angle and sent it on a gentle swing instead. That was not what he wanted! Especially not when it then carried on to hit him on his nose.
Ezra was determined though. He had promised his friend an apple, so an apple he was going to deliver.
Several further bounces of the apple later and Ezra managed to figure out how to almost guide it with his tongue. It rolled around and- CRUNCH.
Yum. Apple.
Careful to keep the apple held by his mouth, Ezra lowered himself back down to his seated position. Only when he was safely sat back down once more did he dare bring his hands up to the apple. Any earlier and it would have taken the fun out of it!
“There we go,” he attempted to say around his bite of apple as he leaned forward to offer the rest of the treat to the Dragon Toad.
If his words actually came out understandable or not, it did not seem to matter. Hoposeidon got the message and a long tongue quickly swiped the apple off him.
Ezra finished his mouthful and let out a loud laugh at the toads reaction to a treat. And then proceeded to tumble off the back of the toad as Hoposeidon showed his apple joy with a happy little wiggle.
One down, three to go! Giovi felt accomplished and, for once, thrilled! He was having the time of his life doing the things that he'd wanted to do since he'd left home for the summer. He missed the horses, he missed the fields! He missed everything about the family that stayed behind but he couldn't dwell on it here or he'd end up looking like a baby.
No one cried about missing home, after all. At least... not tough people, right?
Gathering himself he hugged his Toad friend for a moment before he cleared his mind and turned his attention back toward the tasks at hand. Three more to go. He and Phillip had this! They were a pair for the record books!
Even if they didn't make it, even if they didn't win, Giovi was more than happy here, in this moment. With his toad buddy. Professor Fairburn had made his day and he didn't even know if she'd meant to!
They hopped to a part of the course, Giovi clinging for all he was worth until something flew passed his head! A snowball! He let out a yelp of a laugh, tucking his head nearer to the toad's body as one smacked into his side. He laughed as another whizzed by.
Yet Phillip, urged on by Gio's words of encouragement through his laughs, hopped loyally onward. Gosh Phillip was awesome!
Another ball hit is arm and he shook the snow off, only a little deterred before he sat up and, while holding on, tried to lead his Dragon Toad around the soaring snowballs with the training he had. The snow had melted instantly! How cool!?
Adjusting weight, leading without reigns. There wasn't a mane to hold onto like a horse but it wasn't too hard. A pull on the neck or the sway of his weight to pull in another direction as he held on as best he could to keep from slipping on the skin.
A determination flared inside of him - it was like a horse course. Get hit by as few as possible and he'd gotten hit by two. Ok, Giovi, he told himself, it was time to focus!
He dodged one that came at his face, crouching upward with foot and leg, balanced to keep himself and his vision in check - Phillip responded with a sound that he took as agreement as Giovi urged his companion to go faster.
Confident in his abilities and the toad responding to that confidence they weaved through most of the snowballs. One more smacked into his chest but exploded into powder that evaporated on impact.
Three.
Counting to himself he kept moving through the span of lawn, ducking down and sometimes pushing his arms off of the toad to let snowballs pass as the hopped quickly along. He only slipped a few times when, mercifully, they ended up at the end of the field.
They'd been hit by four if he counted the one that hit Phillip in his mad hopping dash to the end of the snowball obstacle. The lingered a moment looking back together before Giovi cast his eyes down at the toad beneath him.
"You're an amazing boy, you know that?" he asked the creature before they hopped onward.
Oh yeah. Giovi's best friend was now a Dragon Toad and he was alright with that. They had cleared half of the course! Two more to go!
Though the name Dragon Toad sounded somewhat familiar, there was nothing else that came to mind for Alora Sagemore -- she certainly hadn't seen these in person before, or knew much about them until today. Not as far as she could remember, anyway.
This was a brand new experience for a young Sagemore.
Post by Alora Sagemore on Nov 2, 2023 15:04:32 GMT 10
Alora really had no clue whatsover of the Dragon Toads, perhaps heard the name somewhere sometime - but that made it even more fun to find out how to properly interact with them!
After her first obstacle, Alora had climbed onto Sir Bufo again, both of them marching directly onto the next obstacle – or at least so had Alora thought until she noticed that her Toad did turn around and trudged in a completely different direction.
“Sir Bufo, halt! That’s the wrong direction!”
Alora pressed her left leg more than her right one to show it where to go – and luckily for her Sir Bufo understood, correcting its path. Now, they were on the right path again! She pointed forward in excitement.
“Oh, do you see that? We will have to walk through here and then –“
Splat!
Something cold and wet had hit her right into her face. Alora grimaced and wiped it away – only to notice how something white hurtled right towards her. She quickly let herself fall down onto Sir Bufo and avoided the snowball that way.
In front of her she saw even more of the dangerous, frigid balls, hearing the swooshing sound from them flying through the air.
“Well, what would your suggestion be on how to handle this one?”
Sir Bufo croaked and suddenly dashed forward. Alora squealed in surprise and desperately tried to hold onto her Dragon Toad, but lying flat onto it did not provide with much stability, though it did provide cover from the snowballs. At least for Alora, Sir Bufo was definitely hit multiple times with them but seemed rather to enjoy them.
Slowly, but steady, Alora slipped from the toad, right in the middle of the obstacle. Sir Bufo came to a halt and waited for her to get onto its back again. While doing so, Alora was hit two times by snowballs, though managed to avoid another one by ducking in the exact right moment.
As lying on the toads back had actually been not such a bad idea after all, Alora decided to do so once more, and somehow managed to stay on its back, though barely hanging onto it. Once the end of the second obstacle was reached, she had no energy to hold onto Sir Bufo anymore and plopped right to the ground.
Alora sat down onto the grass, leaning against Sir Bufo.
“A short pause, alright? You surely don’t, but I need one! You are really fantastic, Sir Bufo!”
Last Edit: Nov 2, 2023 15:06:36 GMT 10 by Alora Sagemore
Post by Kamari Sagemore on Nov 2, 2023 15:08:08 GMT 10
Having finished up her meeting with the older students, Kamari quickly made her way back out to the grounds. From what she understood there was an event going on and she was bound and determined to take part in it!
She was just in time to hear the details and, nodding, glanced around. Dragon Toads. She couldn't remember if she'd interacted with one in the past before or not (although it seemed like something she should have remembered) but she'd take the Professor's advice.
Professor Fairburn was one of those that was really amazing when it came to magical creatures so Kamari heeded her word, approaching one of the creatures slowly but with confidence.
She reached out gingerly, running her fingertips along the large creature's side. He eyed her for a moment before his tongue poked out as if he were mocking her and she bit her lip to keep from laughing. The large boy reared up, showing what he could of his massive body before taking a hop away from her.
It glanced back in question. She'd thought he was rejecting her but the way he waited, she, after a moment, understood.
Walking closer to her new buddy she climbed easily up his back and settled, slipping only a bit before she clung down with a squeak that was, unfortunately, not as regal as she'd imagined it would be. She would pretend she hadn't made a sound at all.
"Alright, uh... Jaskier Toad, I think we should catch up with everyone el- ahh!" Without waiting for her to finish speaking her slimy buddy was hopping onward and it took everything in her power to cling to the guy as he bounded forward.
Eyes squeezed shut she hid her face against the cold for a moment, absolutely sure he'd throw her off. But nothing like that happened.
Releasing her grip a little she opened her eyes, sitting up and glancing around with wide eyes and confusion. Oh. Oh this was nice! And they were approaching the first obstacle. She watched some other students and honed her focus on the archway to find the apple.
It was too tall to catch with the toad so she'd have to stand.
Oh. Oh that didn't sound good at all! But if the others could do it, so could she! Kamari braced herself and stood as Jaskier hopped forward. She climbed to her feet, apologizing to the Dragon Toad as he moved forward in a happy hop! She was anxious but her Toad buddy seemed willing to help, giving a jump as she pushed up to catch the apple in her mouth.
It missed the first time and smacked her cheek but Jaskier turned around at her urging and hopped back through. On the second go, Kamari reached forward and watched with half crossed eyes as the apple came nearer.
Catching it in her mouth she dropped back onto the Dragon Toad before taking the bite and offering it down to him.
"Hey! We make a good team, huh?" She smiled down at the Toad before he ate the apple and hopped onward with a croak that echoed her scream as he took off a bit too fast for her comfort. She hugged onto him tightly with wide eyes as he barreled onward.
Oh this was not an even paced Dragon Toad at all! But she'd have to adjust to him, she'd have to work at his pace. She could do this!
With two obstacles cleared, Giovi was feeling pretty confident as they hopped along. He was quiet as he glanced around, taking in the scene as he lifted himself with more confidence.
Riding a Dragon Toad wasn't too terribly different than riding a horse, really. Save for that they were a little harder to hang onto. But he was lucky he had the training to handle a bareback horse so the toad really didn't bother him.
There were worse things in the world.
But the course was thrilling! For a moment he was lost in thought, watching the world around him and the other students that were ahead of him go beneath a bar. His mind halted a moment, startled back into working when Phillip decided to hit his belly.
Squeaking, Giovi lowered with him, tucking his head down and flattening himself. It was like when they'd have to run fast on a horse - his dad's horses were for racing mostly so he'd learned how to gather speed. The closer you were to the back the easier it was to go faster.
But this wasn't about fast.
The low beam before him told him that it was some toady game of limbo! The way his back was over the back of the toad would catch! He saw that even from here. With a huff he pushed himself backward, holding on with the best of his skill to lay backward against the toad's back, his arms down on the sides of the creature, his head turned to the side so that his face wouldn't catch the beam.
It was precarious and took a lot of his strength and know-how, but the beam barely slid by his face. With a huff he cleared it, head tipping back once they were away for an upside-down view of the beam behind them.
He sucked in a breath and used his arms to create momentum to pull himself up. He almost slipped but managed by sheer luck to keep hold before his arms were back around the toad's neck. Thank goodness for farm chores! He'd never thought he'd say that, but he still had the strength and the flexibility from it, that was for sure!
Back in place and secure he cheered for his toad friend, one arm shooting out to congratulate him before they continued onward to the last line. This was an absolute blast!
Post by Kamari Sagemore on Nov 2, 2023 15:49:42 GMT 10
Ok! The first challenge was cleared and she was a bit more confident, even is Jaskier was not being slow. She just had to hang in there and hope for the best, right? Right.
She just had to keep holding on and Kamari was getting pretty good at that! Slippery or not, the Dragon Toad was confident enough for the both of them. Maybe she could learn from the toad and be a little more confident in herself, too. She was confident, of course, but... some situations were difficult.
They made their way forward and, in a flash, Kamari ducked as something white came blasting toward her. She gave a quiet yelp as she ducked but then watched as more came forward. Sitting up slightly she clung tighter, watching ahead.
"Jaskier! Go faster!" she told the Dragon Toad as if he could understand her. He in fact, did go faster but she didn't know if it was her or not. Maybe he just wanted to hop through the snowballs! One caught her in the side of the head and exploded before it melted and she giggled at the sudden coolness.
More came for them but Jaskier stayed in his stubborn straight line barreling through the snowballs. Another caught her arm and one caught his side. One against her leg and another on her back. She laughed aloud as they went. They'd said to get hit by as few as possible so five wasn't too bad.
Not when Jaskier hopped excitedly through the field.
She dodged one that came too close to her face, then threw herself forward as one whizzed close to her side again - barely missing as the end of the stretch came into view. Still at five. Five was good!
"Go Jaskier! Good boy!" she cheered, excited from the rush of the Toad's pace and the cold air against her face. It was wonderful, really. She finally drew the spirit to sit straight up, watching the field as they cleared it and hopped on.
Oh, goodness, this was so much fun! She couldn't wait to tell Papa all about it!
Post by Alora Sagemore on Nov 2, 2023 15:50:17 GMT 10
After a brief rest, Alora climbed on top of Sir Bufo again, trudging towards the next obstacle – a low beam. On sight of it, Sir Bofu instantly let himself fall to the ground, sliding straight towards the beam.
Alora blinked in surprise and tried to duck in time, but her Dragon Toad had been too fast – and she knocked the beam off. “Wait, we have to do that together!”
Sir Bofu croaked and turned itself around to give the limbo another try. This time, it was waiting for instructions.
“Alright. Sir Bufo, I’ll provide you with a plan: We will slowly approach the beam and when we are right in front of it, you will flatten yourself. I, myself, will try to be as flat as possible as well on the back of yours, and then you will start moving forward. Slowly. SLOWLY. Understood?”
Sir Bufo croaked in agreement. With that, they sat their plan in motion.
The Dragon Toad slowly approached the beam – real slowly. Alora sighted. It seemed in the future she had to remind herself that Dragon Toads needed exact instructions to work with them properly. For now, though, she had to endure it.
Once the beam was finally reached (which felt like it took hours!), Sir Bofu pressed itself towards the ground, making its belly as flat as possible, then stopped.
Alora herself now lied down, letting her limbs hang of from her toad, though pressing all four of them tightly onto Sir Bofu’s body.
It was actually quite similar to how she had survived the second obstacle, but as soon as Sir Bofu started to wriggle himself pass the low beam, Alora noticed how difficult it was to hold onto it.
After all, the wriggle was a completely different movement than the dash earlier!
Alora needed to shift herself along with Sir Bofu, pressing herself even more tightly than before to his body. As she herself was right under the beam, she hold her breath – which she couldn’t do for long because Sir Bofu took a damn long time to get pass the beam!
But to her relief they managed to do so!
Alora tried to straighten herself afterwards, end immediately slipped to the ground. There, she stood beside her toad and decided to give it some deserved pets.
Post by MJ Birdwhistle on Nov 2, 2023 17:23:15 GMT 10
MJ climbed back onto Falkor and off they went again.
It was still a weird, slimy experience but she found she had a slightly easier time staying on. That is to say, she still fell off three times while they made their way to the next obstacle but it wasn't as unexpected as before.
She didn't mind, either. It was fun, riding the Dragon Toad and bonding together and it made her excited about learning of more creatures in the future. MJ couldn't wait till the summer when she could tell her Granny and Great Auntie (and maybe even Max) all about Falkor!
The second challenge seemed to involve snowballs...! MJ gasped as Falkor charged ahead and when they were hit with the first snowball, she was glad that it melted almost instantly. Her Dragon Toad didn't seem to mind (or did he even notice?) being hit with the snowballs so she was relieved.
MJ still kept her head down and pressed herself as flat against Falkor as she could manage. She hoped it would make her less of a target but then again, she was on the back of a giant Dragon toad so they were a target regardless.
The journey across was slower than Falkor's usual speed she noticed and realised he wanted to get hit with as many snowballs as possible.
She laughed at this and pat him on the side, "Come on, we have more challenges to do! You don't want to finish last do you?"
It was a bit sneaky since it was more about the obstacles than racing other students but it certainly put some pep into Falkor's step. They finished the second obstacle quickly and motored onto the next one.
MJ was glad she managed to stay on Falkor's back for the entirety of the snowball challenge. Sadly, she couldn't risk a pat to the back right now so she settled for patting Falkor instead.
"What a good boy! Come on, let's head on!" She grinned, adjusting her position to ensure she definitely didn't fall off again.
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