wow, that's a lot of pollen...

[peckishmods]

wow, that's a lot of pollen

what's up?

Hard to believe the temperature today is a record setting 91 °F what with all that snow in the air. Wait, that’s not snow. It’s cottonwood fluff! And boy is there a lot of it. Over the last three days, the seed fluff and yellow pollen have steadily collected, though not quite like this. Students wake up to a white out on Wednesday, and it just keeps on piling up through morning classes, sticking to everything and causing rampant sneezing with no end in sight.

By lunch, some parts of campus have several feet of fluff on the ground. Central Campus is still manageable, but Thorntrail’s woods and Mothgarden’s grounds look like a blizzard rolled through, the hillsides around Wildgulch are a not-quite-winter wonderland and the pollen is ankle deep in Deeplurk’s meadows. Bub is working his special brand of magic double time to clear paths as fast as possible, but keeping up proves a challenge even for him.

The relentless pollen explosion is a considerable nuisance and staff has trouble keeping students focused after lunch. Junior Pre-Healer Studies is canceled outright when Healer Greatheart decides to move herself to the Central Classrooms lobby to keep a better eye on students. She passes out allergy medicine to those who seem to need it.

Several students spot unfamiliar wizards in long black robes wandering around the upper floors of Central Classrooms before fourth period. By the end of fifth, the day’s called a wash and Administrator Kwan announces that the last period has been cancelled. She advises that students stick indoors — not just because of the pollen, but because it’s hot as hell! Of course, y’all aren’t about to listen to good advice, are you? At the very least, enjoy the rest of the day. Throw on a Bubblehead Charm (or not) and brave the fluff!

As the sun dips low, the endless rain of fluff finally slows and it seems to have petered out after dinner. Staff and student volunteers spend the evening helping to clear fluff.

At the end of the night each Head of House stops by their respective Common Room with a bit of explanation for the day’s events: while the pollen itself was mundane, it seems the cause was magical. Local magical flora and fauna took issue with an invasive grove of Ents moving into the area north of Peckenpaugh, above the falls, and the excessive pollen was the result of magical beings attempting to intimidate the Ents into leaving. Ms. Treetops and Mr. Trullinger are collaborating with the BoMB to help mediate the dispute. Things aren't quite settled, but at the very least, going forward our sinuses should all be spared.

volunteer slots!

A harried Ms. Gunzenhauser, unable to track down her TA, asks 💯 GERTRUDE MCGILLIGUDDY and 💯 LIONEL LOVELACE to teach freshmen the Bubblehead Charm. Assuming they at least try (make a thread with 3 replies each) they’ll each net 5 Points for their House(s). Ms. Gunzenhauser knows how difficult the freshmen are, though, and if TRUDY & LIONEL make real headway (make a thread with 6 replies each), they’ll each get 10 points for their House(s).

As soon as classes are let out, TYBALT ZETTLER digs up some makeshift sleds in the athletic building and organizes a fluff-sledding session on the hills around Wildgulch.

Whether or not 💯 LASZLO PATAKI knows that cottonwood seeds go up like flash paper, they go right to a pile of it with a bit of flame. Just the right amount of mayhem for them, they try this again in several other spots, netting a crowd and ultimately taking their little lightshow to the Mothgarden hedge mazes. Lighting the fluff on the ground at the eastern hedge maze causes quite a scene as the fast burning fire rips through the greenery. It looks cool, but it seems to catch on some mulch. Luckily (unfortunately?) Mr. Berzelius happens to be nearby, with a “Dude,” and a quick Aguamenti he stops a real fire before it can spread. LASZLO loses 10 points for their House and has to turn in a two page paper about fire safety to Berzelius by this Saturday.

HOLLAND GRAVES and FREYA NORRIS use their free time to do some detective work, following a Muscheron scout around campus sure it’ll lead them to the source of all this pollen and fluff. In fact, the Muscheron does not, and instead takes them on a winding adventure through the deepest, densest areas of fluff before returning them to the Surly Stump, which trips FREYA as the Muscheron giggles.

ARMANI’s eyes are so bleary and itchy from all the pollen that they can hardly see, so they decide to head back to their dorm to nap once classes are cancelled. The wheezing mess barrels right into MERLIN PLETCHER outside Central Classrooms after fifth period going in the complete wrong direction. So, MERLIN finds themself tasked with escorting ARMANI to their dorm.

Something’s moving in the fluff near the Greenhouses and CORIANDER PICQUERY can’t tell what it is. It’s kind of freaky, the way it moves, and they scramble to get away, but whatever it is gives chase. CORI leaps into the arms of EDDY WAXWEILER seeking escape when the tiny predator leaps to attack—it’s the FEROCIOUS cactus kitten! Covered in so much fluff it almost looks like a regular cat! CORI and EDDY return the kitten to a very thankful Mr. Trullinger, whom they find speaking with a bearded wizard in long black robes.

locations!

⬦ WHAT'S UP: Well, this has been a weird day! Did you get an allergy headache? Collect fluffy seeds for a craft project? Celebrate when classes were cancelled? Tell us in brief how your student spent their day here!

⬦ SCENES: A place for threading around campus during the Pollenpocalypse!

⬦ OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Comments

Pyromaniac Pied Piper (open++)

[notpoison]

The cottony flurries float past him in waves, some landing in his curls and on the embroidered snake jacket Armani gave him. Here in Mothgarden, the cottonwood seeds are thick enough to remind him of wintertime but without the icy snap of real snow. He's been experimenting with this idea for the last hour on smaller patches, and every success has only encouraged him to try bigger and bigger piles of fluff. By now he has a crowd (of mostly freshmen) following him to watch the show.

He brings the tip of his wand to his lips, and whispers, "Incendio minimus," and it lights up with a tiny orange glow. He only needs to touch the edge of the 'snow'bank for it to catch, sending an immediate wave of fire that ignites the seeds that earns him several ooohs and ahhhhs.

Pyromaniac Pied Piper + at least one wayward child

[circuitree]

Cedar screams at the flash of fire, but shows no signs of fleeing just yet. It's both fascination (there's FIRE and there's SO MUCH of it) and fear (there's SO MUCH FIRE and it's GOING to burn their hair off if they get too close), and it's rooting them right to the spot.

"What ELSE can be set on fire?" they stage whisper to the crowd of mostly freshmen, both excited for and afraid of Laszlo's next target.

Pyromaniac Pied Piper + at least one wayward child

[notpoison]

Laszlo's not used to having an audience, and his showmanship could use work. Still, he turns to the assorted younger students and waves his wand a little.

"Most things," Laszlo supposes. "Most things can be set on fire. This whole maze could burn." Instead, he just lights another dense patch of seeds, which vanishes down the path of the (as of yet) untouched hedgemaze.

Pyromaniac Pied Piper + at least one wayward child

[circuitree]

Oh, that sounds like a bad idea.

Cedar hates bad ideas.

Cedar also loves bad ideas.

"But someone's probably IN there, right?"

Pyromaniac Pied Piper + at least one wayward child

[notpoison]

That's such an afterthought to Laszlo, whose wand is still emitting the most delicate of glows. There's a wisp of smoke rising from further in the maze. Nothing alarming. No one is even yelling, let alone screaming.

"How often do students from Mothgarden use this maze?" he asks genuinely, setting another small tuft of seeds on fire. This one was floating, and the fire only seems to encourage it to lift higher and higher into the air. Laszlo smiles at the sight. In his defense, it is quite beautiful.

Pyromaniac Pied Piper + at least one wayward child

[circuitree]

"Mostly when they wanna smush faces together," they say, half-mesmerized by the floating fluff of fire. They want to touch it. They know they should stay away. Fire can turn to an inferno in about a blink of an eye even without a walking, talking bad omen by your side.

But it's so pretty, and it seems like it doesn't stay on fire. A flash of flame and then it's over!

"Does it always just... go out like that??" They clearly think Laszlo is an expert here.

Pyromaniac Pied Piper + at least one wayward child

[notpoison]

"Not always." He leads Cedar to another healthy patch of cottonseed as even more drifts around them. "Well. I mean. Fire in general. Cottonseed just goes out."

He knows about the Quackenbushes. He knows, he considers the risk, and then he immediately decides he doesn't care. He's often considered a risk as well. "Do you want to try?" he asks, and sort of smiles.

Pyromaniac Pied Piper Impresses Idiot

[arisahn]

Having heard about this exciting experiment in arson from two passing freshmen, Aristotle hurries over to Mothgarden and is delighted as soon as he arrives. Both because he immediately gets to see an especially fluffy mass go up with a burst of bright sparks and because he realizes the one running the show is Laszlo. The freshmen hadn't mentioned that but maybe he should've guessed.

He grins, overshadowing the ooohs and ahhhs of the small crowd with a loud, practiced, enthusiastic whistle. The proximity of all this to a garden doesn't seem to bother him in the slightest. What's next, Laszlo?

Pyromaniac Pied Piper Impresses Idiot

[notpoison]

Laszlo looks like he's thinking about bowing, starts to maybe bow, and then aborts the attemot before getting properly started. His smile is the same smile he wears when cheerleading, which is, uh, it's okay. He's okay.

There's a particularly dense wave of cottonseed coming their way, and Laszlo acts without thinking. He points his wand to the sky, and casts a spell (banned at sports games) to send up a shower of sparks. The floating fluff catches on fire just as easily, briefly lighting up the sky overhead.