This topic is the result of the goose that Addison got in the Duck, Duck Goose thread here.

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Around mid-morning

Curious. That was a wonderful adjective to use, and Addison was pretty much defined by it. She liked to venture around the castle, while simultaneously looking for new inspiration on what to draw. She enjoyed learning more about her favorite subjects like Herbology, Potions, Ancient Runes, and others. She even enjoyed learning about the muggle curriculum, having been focused on the mathematics so far. Back as a first year, she loved exploring the castle. She did all of this because she was curious.

Even though she was curious, Addison wasn't a particularly big risk taker. She would very much rather get a good night's rest and not sneak around the castle during the middle of the night. Only during her first year, had she attempted this, and was extremely tired the next day. So, she certainly wasn't a fan of it.

Being the curious Ravenclaw that she was, Addison ventured into the Forbidden Forest. Despite this year being her fourth year at the castle, she never stepped foot in the forest before. She went past in on occasion, and even heard various noises coming from its depths. But, she figured that it wouldn't hurt to enter the forest, just so long as she didn't go too deep inside.

Hearing just the crunching of leaves underneath her feet, Addison continued for a little bit longer, not trying to stray too far from the edge of the forest. She definitely didn't want to get lost. Spotting a nearby pen, she easily climbed over the fence and continued on her way.

But, Addison soon found out why there was a pen near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A hippogriff stood, not to far away from her. She barely knew anything about these creatures, only that they were hippogriffs. Otherwise, she didn't take Care of Magical Creatures and therefore knew nothing else about them. "A hippogriff...." she muttered, trailing off when she heard it squawk at her. Surprised, she froze in her spot. The creature noticed her.

"Bloody hell," she muttered. She had to get away, before it attacked her. Naturally, she had no idea how it would react to her. Noticing its wings, she winced. Figuring that running fully away would only provoke the creature, she slowly started to back away. As she did so, the creature bowed to her. It actually bowed to her. She was lost in the vision in front of her, that she didn't notice that she had stopped moving due to hitting against one of the poles. Figuring that she was going to die, she instinctively went to grab her wand before remembering that she had no idea if anything was going to help her.

Fortunately for Addison, Josh had been walking nearby. He had seen Addie jump Into the pen, and had run towards her, in case the Hippogriff attacked her. Aeeing the Hippogriff bow to her, Josh relaxed, then saw Addie was going for her wand. "Don't go for your wand Addie, he won't attack you." Josh shouted a warning to Addie, so she wouldn't get herself hurt. Entering the pen himself, he bowed to the hippogriff and was relieved when it bowed to him. hurrying over to Addie, he said "Hippogriffs are proud creatures. If you encounter one, you should bow to them, like I did. If they bow back, then they'll let you approach them. If not, it's usually best to run away." Josh explained.

Looking terrified at the hippogriff, Addison contemplating hopping the fence. Yet, since the hippogriff could clearly fly, she doubted that she could get very far at all. She could yell and hope for someone to help it. But, it may anger the creature, and cause it to attack her long before someone could help it. If she stayed there, the creature could attack her. Heck, if she did anything the creature could attack her. However, the hippogriff hadn't attacked her yet. But, she had no idea what the creature actually would do. So, she  didn't want to risk it.

While trying to think of a way to potentially escape from the current horrifying situation, Addison hadn't noticed that Josh had ran over to her. This was natural for her, considering her thought that she might die at any moment. She quickly looked over at Josh when he warned her not to attempt anything with her wand. Considering the fact that she knew nothing about hippogriffs, she wasn't about to consider attacking it. She watched in disbelief as Josh bowed to the hippogriff himself and it bowed to him too.

"I ... bow ... you ... it," she stammered at first and then shook her head. "Bow to it? It already bowed to me though," she asked.

Josh looked at Addie when she called the Hippogriff it. "Him, not it. You'll probably offend him calling him it, and an offended Hippogriff is one that will attack. Anyway, he bowed to you, so he won't attack you unless you insult him. If you want to approach him though, you should bow first. If you do, wait for him to bow to you before you approach. " Josh said, keeping an eye on the hippogriff, which had wandered away from the two of them, perhaps sensing that they were not going to approach, but weren't a threat either.

Addison blushed when Josh reprimanded her for referring to the hippogriff as it. "Sorry, he doesn't appear to be too interested," she commented by emphasizing the 'he.' Since she had never encountered a hippogriff before, she wouldn't have known that. Looking up creatures in a book wasn't something that she was entirely too interested in. If she had been, she would've taken the Care of Magical Creatures class and then would've known what to do. But, she never took the class, and therefore had no idea what she was doing. It wasn't an easy concept for her to admit to, but at the very least it sounded less bad since she never took the class. On the other hand, if she had taken the class and forgot that information, then she definitely would have looked much worser.

"But, I'll try," she added with a nod. Just because she never encountered a hippogriff before didn't mean that she shouldn't take that opportunity now. After all, she had ran into the hippogriff herself. She approached the hippogriff once more, bowing to him this time. After a little bit, the hippogriff bowed to her. Approaching him, she placed her hand on his side, surprised by how big it was.

"I don't think he heard you, actually. " Josh commented, he could tell Addie had listened, though. staying back, he watched closely as Addie approached the Hippogriff, ready to pull her back if the hippogriff didn't bow. Seeing him bow, Josh went closer, bowing himself when he was close enough. Seeing the Hippogriff bow to him, he approached, stroking the Hippogrff's feathers. "What were you doing in the Forest, anway? I haven't seen you in here before." Josh asked Addie, glad he wasn't a ravenclaw prefect, or he'd have to take points.

Addison nodded when Josh said that he didn't think the hippogriff heard her. That was certainly a good thing. For that matter, she didn't need to be attacked by a creature, especially large ones like a hippogriff. Thankfully, her naive actions didn't anger the hippogriff. Due to not taking Care of Magical Creatures, she would certainly be lost, no matter how hard she even tried.

Addison stroked the hippogriff's feathers after Josh did. He then asked her what she was doing out in the forest. She could give many responses, almost all of which would be lies. Despite the fact that Josh was a Gryffindor prefect, she always felt strange discussing her rule breaking, no matter how rare that seemed to occur.

"I came out here for inspiration on what to draw," she responded. Well, that was a half true statement. She was always looking for inspiration, despite the fact that she rarely found that inspiration. Considering the fact that her Ancient Runes project was due soon, all of her artistic work was centered around that. So, it was certainly probable that she would be looking for other things to draw. For that matter, Josh knew her love for art, so it wasn't something completely out of her character. It certainly helped that she was carrying her bag with her, which housed her sketching supplies. Ever since her first year, she became accustomed to carrying a bag around with her to see if she found inspiration.

Josh's eyebrow rose. Addie was looking for inspiration for her drawing? "Addie, the Forest is forbidden for a reason. It's dangerous, even at the borders, like we are. Couldn't you find a safer place to find inspiration?" Josh asked, somewhat exasperated. The Forest wasn't really a good place for a 4th year, especially one that didn't take COMC. Thinking of some of the rumours about what the Forest held, Josh shuddered. "You're probably lucky it seems to be too near the edge for the nastier creatures I've heard live in the Forest. Those Acromantula from the first task? Rumor has it they live in here." Josh warned Addie.

Addison smiled and shrugged to Josh's question of her. Indeed, there were plenty of safer spots than the forest. But, this could be argued either way. "Trees are a rather complex subject to draw and even more complex to paint. I've seen many lackluster paintings that didn't give the tree justice by failing to include the intricate detail of the bark and leaves. They have such wonderful patterns. When I draw, or do anything for that matter, I try to include as much of that detail as possible. Just as I recently did with my Ancient Runes project," she commented. If he wanted to see proof of that, she had plenty to show. She was a perfectionist for a reason.

Addison nodded to Josh's warning. "Ah yes, the acromantula. They can become such big creatures. But, I pictured them to like dark, and possibly damp niches for them to live in. Near the edge of the forest doesn't exactly fit the niche," she responded with a nod. Quite frankly, the hippogriff seemed to be scarier to her than the acromantula, but that may be because of the fact that she never had to face an acromantula. Josh had to in the first task.

"Still, there are trees on the grounds you could paint, Addie. We weren't in the forest when we were both up that tree last month. I do worry about you, seeing you in dangerous places." Josh said, though he did understand what Addie was saying. "Not quite, but you're close. Heavily forested is preferred by Acromantula. Which, we are in. They don't generally leave the forested area though, which is why the DoRCMC hasn't tried to confirm if there is a colony in here. It's only a danger to those that are in the Forest itself. Axromantula actually prefer to eat human flesh, so it's wise to be exceptionally careful." Josh warned, expression serious. He  had wondered before what the wizard who bred the first acromantula were thinking, because they were vicious.

"Individual trees, yes. Not ones that are clustered together. The canopy's that these cluster of trees form can be quite remarkable. It's like the canopy of some of the rain forests that muggle students learn about in school. I don't deny that you worry about me, you're more than welcome to. But, I'm still an independent mind. I may have plenty more learning to do about somethings, but I'm not completely helpless," Addie stated with a nod.

"You said before that it is rumored that the Acromantula live in the forest here. If no one had documented or seen those creatures in this forest, then it cannot be completely assumed that they are in here. There would still be a chance that they don't live here. The presence of their habitat would be rather coincidental by that point. For that matter, doesn't Professor Hagrid sometimes teach out here?" she asked. Considering the fact that she didn't take Care of Magical Creatures, she wouldn't know how true any of her statements were. The only reason why she knew that Professor Hagrid sometimes taught in the forest, like they were now, was when her classmates would mention it.

"Addie, you aren't helpless, but against an acromantula, to be quite blunt, you may as well be. Hell, I had a tough time of it during the First task, and to be quite blunt, my tactics them were roughly what you would need to use to dodge an acromantula attack in the Forest. Distract it then run like hell. Not tom mention acromantula aren't the only thing in here, I know for a fact there's a centaur herd, and they've always been touchy about humans in the Forest at all." Josh said, hoping Addie would understand what he was saying. "... Addie, when it comes to creatures like Acromantula, it's better to be safe and not sorry. Not to mention there have been a few too many alleged sightings of them for my liking. As for COMC, yeah, it's sometimes in the Forest, but Hagrid's there. he's a half-giant, nothing that is rumored to be here would dare attack someone with him." Josh said, hoping Addie would stop arguing the point. Besides, he thought he could hear a faint but ominous clicking sound.

Addison looked over at Josh and opened her mouth to say something, but decided to close it instead. Arguing about the danger in the forest wasn't really going to get them anywhere. Heck, it could very well attract Aromantula to their very position, depending on how they hunted for prey. Nevertheless, it would still attract the attention of some type of creatures that lived in the forest, which could be potentially dangerous. It wasn't like she would know if they would be dangerous or not, but Josh would certainly know.

She let out a soft sigh and shook her head. "Sorry," she uttered. "How about this then, why don't we discuss the loss of points Ravenclaw is going to lose due to my trespassing in the Forbidden Forest," she admitted, only to the fact that she was obviously in the Forbidden Forest. Josh would have a cow at her if he knew that she quite frankly had no real reason for being in the forest in the first place, aside from curiosity. Their rather wonderful discussion of art theory, even though it was a front to hide why she was in the forest, was really only a justification for carrying around her art supplies. Josh wasn't stupid, he could clearly see that she wasn't about to start drawing in the forest.

"Ravenclaw won't lose any points. First, I can only take points from Gryffindors. It's the same for all prefects. Second, I'd be kind of a hypocrite if I did take points, seeing as how I'm in the Forest too. Funnily enough, probably for the same reason you're really in here, which is kind of ironic, if you think about it." Josh said, knowing Addie almost certainly was simply curious. Hey, he couldn't blame her; he got curious too. So Josh would let Addie off, even though he could probably report her to a professor.

Addison looked over at Josh as he talked and nodded. She knew that there were ways that he could get her in trouble if he really wanted. Of course, that was a decision that was entirely up to him, and she wasn't exactly about to encourage that decision anyway. Besides, it wasn't like she enjoyed making her house lose points because of her actions.

"I wouldn't really call it ironic. Coincidental, yes, but not really ironic. Especially since you know that I don't break rules much at all as it is. I highly doubt that you're out here breaking rules yourself," she responded with a smile. Her curiosity was mainly towards her schooling, both magical and muggle. Rarely was it placed in such a way, where she had to break a rule to go where she wanted to go.