Study of Magical Creatures Class

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

River smiled at *almost* everyone, excited still.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Ephria glanced around to make sure that no one else was coming - including her assistant - before going outside so that she could start the class. "Welcome students, I'm Professor Fontaine and today we will be starting a unit on magical and mythical serpents. I'll focus mostly on Amphisbaena and Basilisk today. Now, does anyone know anything about these two types of serpents?"

[Elizabeth ♛Smart Girls Love Trashy Books♛ , Modess of Pinkness]

Erika remembered reading a bit about the basilisk from her mother's books and a little bit of Arista's tutorings, but she only knew the basic stuff and thus didn't raise her hand from embarrassment.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

((I will remind Hart again))

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

((Don't worry about it. It's okay if she's busy.))

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

((I remember her saying something about finals soon but she said she would post so maybe she forgot))

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

River thought about it and raised her hand. "Basilisks are highly venomous. I don't know about the other one."

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"They are highly venomous, both of them," Ephria said, nodding in confirmation. "Very good. Does anyone know anything else about the amphisbaena? It's lesser known than the basilisk."

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Keli wasn't big on raising her hand so she didn't. "Does it have something to do with bugs or ants?"

"I thought she said serpents?" River said.

"Etymology- study of words-" Keli said. "If you break it down it means mother of ants."

[Elizabeth ♛Smart Girls Love Trashy Books♛ , Modess of Pinkness]

“So....it’s a giant ant?” Erika whispered quietly, shivering in slight disgust.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Its name loosely translates to the Mother of Ants, because it has been known to eat ants," Ephria confirmed. "However, it is not well known for eating ants. It's known mostly for its venom, its origins, and its healing properties."

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Keli shook her head and said quietly to Erika, "No, it's a serpent. It just eats them." She listened to the other details. "So they are both highly venomous."

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"Is that all then?" River asked, wondering if they were just big and venomous.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Patience," Ephria replied without sounding like any sort of scolding. "One of the key distinctions of an Amphisbaena is its two heads. Unlike the malformation of some snake breeds where the two heads appear beside each other, the amphisbaena has a head on either side. One where the head would be, and the other at the tail. I say that only to explain, because there is no telling which side is which, meaning that neither side is smaller. They share a brain and act together."

[Elizabeth ♛Smart Girls Love Trashy Books♛ , Modess of Pinkness]

Erika simply continued to listen. So far the creatures just sounded creepy and gross. She secretly wanted to learn about something cute and gentle.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"So is the brain in The Middle then?" River asked. "How to their share a brain if it isn't?"

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"That's a good question," Ephria answered. "There isn't much known about it's physiology. Most people that have tried to get close to study it were bitten and died. And surprisingly, a dead one has never been found. Some speculate that it has a linear brain that spans it's body. But yes, a brain in the center of it's body is another popular speculation."

[Elizabeth ♛Smart Girls Love Trashy Books♛ , Modess of Pinkness]

“A dead one has never been found?” Feliciano asked in amazement. “Wouldn’t that mean the venom would overtake the body and corrode it right after death or something?”

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"Probably not. I mean, think about venomous snakes, scorpions, other animals that have venom. None of them die from their own venom being made in their bodies," Keli said, forgetting her aversion to involvement.

[Elizabeth ♛Smart Girls Love Trashy Books♛ , Modess of Pinkness]

Feliciano shrugged. “Just an idea. It made me curious and so I started to think about it a little,” He gave her a wink.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Ephria watched their conversation, glad to have sparked some interest in the matter. "There are a few possibilities for why a dead specimen has never been found. One is that their carcasses are highly sought after by some prey and are eaten up before they are discovered by people. This is the most likely possibility. Others claim that they don't die, but this isn't as likely seeing as there are many fewer than in the times they were first discovered.

[Elizabeth ♛Smart Girls Love Trashy Books♛ , Modess of Pinkness]

“My, how ghastly! Eating something directly after they die. I suppose that is the way of the wild though,” Henrietta put a hand up to her mouth daintily. “Maybe they are fewer in number because humans themselves hunt them for various reasons,”

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"Do people actually get that close?" River asked. "To hunt them to near extinction?"

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"No, as far as I know, people haven't actively hunted them since the dark ages," Ephria answered. "Their other natural predators are more at fault for their endangerment."

[Elizabeth ♛Smart Girls Love Trashy Books♛ , Modess of Pinkness]

“As the laws of nature often dictate,” Henrietta sighed dramatically.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"What kind of animal would go after something so deadly?" River asked curiously.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

*

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Something even more deadly," Ephria answered. "Isn't the saying...big eat smaller fish? Or something like that. Even though the amphisbaena is incredibly venomous, it isn't as large as many other snakes and creatures. So something that can counteract the venom or surprise it with an attack that could kill it woudln't hesitate.

Are there any more questions before we move on to the Basilisk?"

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

River shook her heas and Keli stuffed her hands back in her pockets.

[Elizabeth ♛Smart Girls Love Trashy Books♛ , Modess of Pinkness]

Erika shook her head as well, idlely picking imaginary dust off her dress.

Feliciano and Henrietta both nodded in unison.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Very good," Ephria said and nodded as she gathered her thoughts for the next portion. "Who knows how a Basilisk is made?"

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Neither River or Keli could answer that. But Ruver tried a guess "Are they hatched?"

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Yes, in a very odd way," Ephria said, giving a bit of a hint.

[Elizabeth ♛Smart Girls Love Trashy Books♛ , Modess of Pinkness]

“Don’t the eggs hatch by themselves...?” Erika asked softly. She couldn’t really remember.

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"From a magic chicken?" Kell muttered.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Yes, but they're incubated," Ephria replied to Erika, whose voice she could barely hear. "If you have an answer, please speak up. I don't have superhuman hearing."

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Keli didn't repeat her answer.

[Elizabeth ♛Smart Girls Love Trashy Books♛ , Modess of Pinkness]

Erika’s face simply blushed bright red and she tightened her grip on her skirt, glancing down at the ground and deciding to remain silent for the rest of the class.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"The way that a Basilisk is made is by placing a chicken egg under a toad for it's incubation. It actually has nothing to do with snakes, but that is what is made," Ephria said. "Does anyone know the main predator of a basilisk in it's young age?"

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

"A Phoenix?" River tried, thinking she'd read something like that.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Yes, that's correct," Ephria answered. "A basilisk is a major prey of a phoenix because they are immune to the creature's natural venom. Do any of you know some ways a human could weaken a basilisk without access to a phoenix?"

[Elizabeth ♛Smart Girls Love Trashy Books♛ , Modess of Pinkness]

"Can you not talk to them to try and soothe them, like in those books my father loves?" Henrietta tilted her head slightly.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"I suppose that is possible, but isn't likely," Ephria answered. "Basilisks are often blinded by rage and difficult to communicate with. No, it's something simple and unexpected."

[Haaley, ᙏoᑯ oƒ ᙏᥲ⳽tᥱɾɩᥒɠ ᙃᥙᥒɠᥱoᥒ⳽]

Keli wasn't sure. Were they trying to kill or weaken it only?

[Kylie]

Kade finds his way to the classroom. He'd never really wandered around the school like this before. But it was nice to see more of it. He knocks lightly before entering, not wanting to startle anyone or anything. He figured he was pretty good with animals and could at least help her tend to them and allow her to rest a little better.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Ephria had a room full of boxes that she couldn't move. Some containing feed for the few creatures that lived here at the moment, and some just more display things that were either going up or coming back down. She'd cleaned up her mess by herself, the one she'd gotten injured with, despite essentially being advised not to. So at least he didn't have to worry about that. She was halfway across the place when he knocked so she didn't quite reach it before he came inside. "You're earlier than I expected."

[Kylie]

"Well the sooner I could come the less work I figured that you would do." he says. He steps inside. It was clear she kept a tidy space- it was a little dark though.
"Okay. Go ahead and tell me what to do. I'm at your service." he says with a small cheeky grin.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"The creatures need to be fed. The best way is to sprinkle it into their enclosures," she explained and gestured to the box filled with some undeterminable feed. She'd gotten a scoop before, but the contents were too heavy for the scoop to hold up to, so she generally picked up the whole thing. It wasn't too heavy, but heavy enough.

[Kylie]

Kade grabs the box and the scoops and lifts it on to one arm to leverage the scoop with his other hand, "Just tell me how much for each." he says and looks at the feed curiously, "What's in this stuff?" he asks wondering. The smell of it was pretty terrible to him.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

"Just stop when the little feeding pit is full," Ephria told him, pointing to the little indent in the floor of the creature's enclosure. "It's a lot of fish parts and some vitamins in there to keep them healthy with what they can't get in the wild right now. When they come out, you'll see why they need it"