"Of course she's going to make it look easy."

Osha raised her eyebrows at the way Ayla said this, barely catching the muttered "Show off." It wasn't Naomi's fault that she was good at this sort of thing - but there was probably more to it than just that. She laughed nervously, not wanting to agree of disagree with the comments.

            "...I love animals but the big ones still kinda freak me out."

"Yeah, I think I would have preferred looking at the glumbumbles," Osha giggled as she thought about the funny insects that Professor Onuris liked to ramble about. She followed Ayla's gaze, attention settling on Kelvin as the class continued to observe the water.

He didn't look very happy. "Why poor Kelvin?" she asked, confused.

It was slow work but, eventually, Foley made it close enough to the creature that was able to mount it. He hoped the others were carefully watching instead of letting their attention wander: they would each have their turn. Sylvain gave her directions in a soothing voice while he stroked Ursula's muzzle.

"You must let yourself float on to her, carefully, do not put too much pressure on her at once," he glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the class to remind them he was still paying attention. "Sit astride and stroke between her shoulders, oui?"

As Naomi followed these instructions, Sylvain allowed himself to drift away from the Hippocampus so that she would have space to dive into the water once her passenger was properly seated. They would soon be off towards deeper waters for a brief ride and then back to shore.

"Another pair, s'il vous plaît, for when Foley has returned?" Sylvain called to the onlookers.

Kelvin kept his attention on the scene in front of him, ignoring what he was pretty sure was Ayla and Osha talking about him.  He wasn't sure what about, but he'd definitely heard his name.  He glanced at his partner.  Yeah, he definitely needed to pay attention to the professor.  Or they'd both end up maimed.

He stood up. "Let's just get this over with," he said to Kyson as he stepped forward, volunteering them to go next.  He'd made sure to pay attention to what the professor and Naomi were doing.  And he started repeating it in his head to make sure he had it down.  Float, get on slowly, pet the hippocampus, don't get eaten.

"Stop staring at his perfect body and pay attention, . . . unless you want to drown."

Kyson almost lit up at that remark. There was so much he could do with it but he also didn't want to be especially cruel to Kelvin either. He didn't hate the Prefect he just really enjoyed getting under people's skin (while also confusing the hell out of them)

"So you admit it, you think he has a perfect body?" Kyson had said as much himself and there wasn't really any sense in denying it. He was actually kind of surprised they were the only ones remarking on it.

He looked off as the Professor helped Foley with her ride, "think if I pretended to drown he'd give me mouth to mouth?"

Kyson didn't blame Kelvin for volunteering them next. He was actually surprised that the Ravenclaw hadn't tried to get out of being his partner. As they reached the water line Kyson didn't hesitate in getting into the water, "you wanna ride first or should I?"

Foley had done well on her go[1] around the lake, managing to hold on without falling off Ursula even once. The Hippocampus was one of the more domesticated of her kind but she dipped and dived into the water at irregular intervals: something that a move relaxed or less experienced rider would find alarming. Luckily Naomi's grip was not strong enough to alarm the creature either.

"Bien!" Sylvain clapped after he'd shown the class how to dismount, which was as easy as letting go and slowly allowing yourself to float away. "Five points. Now, who is next?" he looked past Foley and towards the shore of waiting students. They had mostly paired off by now.

The two boys who had volunteered were still chatting but Sylvain cut into their exchange, gesturing for them to enter the water. Ursula was having fun and he didn't want her to get bored before the lesson was over.

"Cavanaugh! Watkins!" he pushed himself away from Ursula, giving the pair more space to work with but still keeping close enough to help should they need it. "Remember: nice and slowly, oui?"

1.	With permission from Zayzie!

Kelvin ignored Kyson's question about what he thought about the professor's body only to turn and gape when the Slytherin brought up mouth to mouth.  "Seriously? No, he would—"

"Cavanaugh! Watkins!"

Shit.  Had he heard them?  For Merlin's sake, Kelvin hoped he hadn't.  He was pretty sure he would have to drop the class then, or maybe follow Ambrose's lead.  He followed Kyson out toward Ursula, slowing down as the professor reminded them both.  He hesitated as they got up close, "Um, how about you go first?  I'll watch."  The water and the nearness of the hippocampus helped to keep him focus.

The fear of  making a fool of himself, yet again, also helped to keep his attention on the task in front of him.

Kyson's smile was wide as he managed to get the reaction he had been hoping for out of the Prefect. However he couldn't revel in it too long as they were beckoned toward the water.

He almost choked on his retort, summoning all his willpower not to say something about Kelvin liking to watch. He had teased the kid enough for now and truth be told he was actually eager to get into the water.

Kyson waded in and approached the creature. He had spent a few summers surfing off the coast of Australia and was used to being in the water but he wasn't sure how well those skills would translate to riding a Hippocampus. Despite looking like a horse from the chest up it was a little awkward mounting her. He wasn't entirely sure where to hold on and he wasn't given much time to figure it out.

Ursula took off almost as soon as Kyson had climbed onto her. She picked up speed and started dipping in and out of the water, taking her rider with her. By the fourth time she dived into the water Kyson lost his grip and the creature took off without him. Moments later he burst from water himself tossing back his long shaggy curls and sputtering water.

Treading water Kyson let out a whoop and watched Ursula come to the surface again, whinnying as if laughing at him. He playfully splashed her before turning back to the class, "that was wild!"

Ayla was pretty sure rolling her eyes was audible at this point as she caught snippets of what Kyson had said to Kelvin. She glanced over at Osha as she inquired into what Ayla had meant. It took her a moment to remember that not everyone had had such horrible run ins with the Slytherins as she had. She waited until the pair were out of ear shot before she responded to her friend.

"Being paired with Kyson. The kid doesn't seem to know when to shut up and I swear he lives to tease other people." Granted, Kyson wasn't as bad as some of the others in his house. He seemed to tease people because he enjoyed it, yet not in a malicious way. Then again, most of the teasing Ayla had received from him had been about her short lived Romance with Xavier and more recently her encounter with Alistair. She was still angry at Spectre that he had told Kyson in the first place.

She watched Kyson ride the hippocampus and despite herself gasped when he was thrown off. She didn't realize she had been holding her breath until he had finally surfaced again, "and I thought getting buckled off a horse was bad." Not that Ayla had ever been bucked off a horse, but she was sure it rarely came the side effect of almost drowning.