Closed Ten Degrees of Strange

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb had been putting off his adventure into the woods for a while now. He wasn't scared exactly but he wasn't as comfortable with the idea of getting lost in the woods the same way he was fine to get lost in the winding corridors of the castle. But it had been over a year since he arrived at school and with the weather finally warm enough to be out in the evening he decided it was finally time. It was the perfect way to celebrate the end of the semester. There were still exams to take but he didn't care very much about those and knew this was a much better use of his time. He knew most people were in their dorm room but there was just enough time before curfew to make a quick trip. Even if he did take longer than expected he had enough practice sneaking in and out of the dungeons he wasn't worried. Caleb walked quickly but not too quickly across the grounds towards the forest. Up close the trees looked more threatening as they towered above him. But he shook his head, they were just trees after all.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia had always enjoyed a good adventure, especially getting out on the boat with Dad. But without a boat of his own to goof around on at Hogwarts, there was only so much he could do in the lake. Which meant that eventually his attention had been drawn to the other potential source of adventure at Hogwarts. Namely, the forest. He was just peering at the trees in curiosity when he saw a familiar face heading for the forest, recognising Caleb from class. He hesitated only a moment before making his way towards the Slytherin, giving him an encouraging smile. "You going in the forest?" He asked in an undertone as he got close, even though there was nobody nearby to overhear them. "Wanna go together?" Manaia knew having a Professor for an aunt might make other kids nervous to break the rules around him, but he personally couldn't think of many better uses for an afternoon than going on a little adventure and maybe making a new friend.

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb kicked a rock and watched as it soared into the drees and waited to hear it thud on the ground a few seconds later. It didn't sound like it hit anything too dangerous, and he figured he'd be fine if only for a short trip in and out. But he hadn't been paying as close attention as he thought he was and spun around when he heard someone ask him a question. He recognized the boy from his year and looked at him studiously. “Maybe.” he said slowly with a playful grin, not wanting to answer one way or another until he know if it was a trap or not. When offered to go together he smiled wide. "Yeah that sounds good, safety in numbers and all that." he said trying not to sound so completely relieved. "I'll race you." he blurted out quickly and rushed into the forest but not too fast to get completely caught on his own.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia was relieved that Caleb agreed to the company, excited at the prospect of adventure together. He laughed in delight when the other boy took off running, grinning as he chased after him. "Oi, not fair!" He laughed, hurrying to catch up as he dodged through the trees and over fallen logs and branches. "Man, this place isn't even so bad. I've seen way thicker bush." He commented, looking around. "Don't even see why it's so forbidden."

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb slowed to a walk as Manaia caught up with him and was more winded than he'd like to admit. It also didn't help that the farther they went in the ground got less and less easy to navigate. "I don't either." he said in agreement. The forest seemed like just that, a bunch of trees. He guested there was some danger to be had in just a regular forest but he didn't see why it made it forbidden. "Oh look at that!" he said and pointed to a rather large tree that had rough bark that almost looked like it could have been clawed at by some kind of beast, or maybe it just kind of looked like that. The sun wasn't setting exactly but it made the shadows in the forest seem a little spookier than if it had been, lets say, the middle of the day.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia looked over as Caleb pointed, half-expecting to see some kind of incredible magical creature he had never even imagined before, but instead he saw... a tree. Manaia's face fell slightly before he realised what Caleb was actually pointing at. "Oh, woah." Manaia said, moving closer and touching the tree's bark gently. "It's real scratched up, I wonder what's in here that could do that..." He trailed off, already rethinking his scorn at the forbidden nature of the forest. But there were two of them and they both had wands, surely they would be fine.

 

[Caleb Thorne]

Caleb wasn't expecting much of a reaction from Manaia and at first he seemed disappointed in what he pointed out, only too look awed a second later. He retuned his attention to the tree immediately. "Oh yeah?" he said unsurely and hovered behind the other boy before he realized he had to be a lot braver if he wanted Manaia to think he was cool and in control. "I mean, definitely some kind of creature must have done it." he said trying to sound more sure than he was. It did look like it might just be some funky bark but the other boy seemed to more about this kind of stuff and it made him wary the farther they went. "Do you have any ideas about what could have done it?" he asked. He suddenly wondered if giants or trolls lived in the woods. They'd defiantly be big enough but it wasn't like they had claws.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia shrugged when Caleb asked what it might have been, looking around as he started forging deeper into the forest. "I dunno, there's not animals with claws like that native to Aotearoa." He shrugged, peeking around a tree trunk before moving forward. "Like, we don't have bears or whatever. Must have been something magical. Maybe a werewolf or something." Manaia didn't know much about werewolves, but if there were some hiding out in the forest, at least it wasn't a full moon right now.