Earth Zoology

[livingartifact]

"Welcome back," Jenkins greeted, once everyone who seemed to be coming today was in attendance. "I hope you've all had interesting weeks. I thought this week we might take in an aquatic creature. I was thinking perhaps a giant squid — but though I've heard there is one in residence in the waters off the coast of the island, I have not yet actually managed to meet it, and centering a class around it without properly introducing myself seemed . . . a bit rude." He gave a tight smile and a shrug. "So we shall have to content ourselves with something that can fit into an observation tank here in the classroom. Let us turn our attention to the agile octopus."

Without further ado, he pulled the sheet off his container of the week, revealing a large aquarium full of sand, rocks, shells, and faux-coral. And, if you looked closely and managed to encourage them to move, three small octopuses.

"Octopuses — and yes, that is the generally accepted plural of the term — are boneless aquatic animals, known for their multiple arms and, especially recently, their canny intellects. As you can see — assuming any of them can be encouraged to wave them about — they have eight limbs in total, and extremely flexible bodies, both in shape and in color and texture." That's right, Peridot, these suckers basically wrote the book on organic shapeshifting. "I do believe, for instance, that this rock here —" He reached cautiously into the tank with a small metal pole, gently tapping the rock in question until it changed colors and shapes and shoved itself angrily off to sulk under a branching coral. "— yes, there he goes. Terribly sorry, it's for educational purposes." He tapped a couple other unlikely spots, revealing two more of the little creatures. "They are masters of camouflage, as you can see, and because their beaks are the only parts of them that aren't flexible, they are incredibly skilled at escaping as well." He poked a few other spots unsuccessfully, then straightened, pulling his pole from the water. "Oh dear." He looked around, frowning hard. "Yes, well. I should have expected this. If you would each please have a look around for any suspicious wet spots? It seems we have a runner. Don't worry, I made sure we didn't get one of the especially venomous species, but . . . well, do take care not to let it bite you, either way. They are all at least a little venomous, you see. . . ."

The Cryptozoologist's Field Guide, Wednesday, Per 1

[arboreal_priestess]

Class met in the Danger Shop today, now that she'd gotten a brief rundown about how it worked. The students stepped into a room made of two distinct biospheres; to one side was a desert not unlike something found in Arizona or Nevada and to the other side lay a verdant jungle, though one with significantly less overgrowth than one might find in a real jungle. On the desert side, no animals were easily visible, just an assortment of cacti growing in sporadic patches. On the jungle side, flashes of brightly colored feathers could sometimes be seen, and loud yowls and strange bird calls could be heard. In Verity's arms was a large creature with black wings and by her feet was another bit of cactus.

( ;Cataceae veprecula' is a pun )

From her bag, Verity pulled out notebooks and pencils to hand out. "Today, your job is to hang out with these different cryptids and take notes on their behavior. What can you discover about them? What do they eat? How do they interact? Take as many notes as you can, either by observation or direct interaction."

Sleeping With Your Eyes Open, January 10, 2018, 3rd period

[sith_happened]

"Right," Anakin said, slapping a huge briefing paper on each student's desk as they arrived. "Another key problem in diplomacy is trying to keep up with all of the studies and briefings and fights via email about your area of expertise. Here's a hint: you never will. So you will need to learn to skim quickly and be able to talk with authority with very little actual knowledge."

Somewhere Obi-Wan was despairing of Anakin's technique.

"To that end, you have ten minutes to read the tome in front of you and then brief the class on this, your new area of expertise." He smiled. "And pray that no one in the room has more actual expertise than you do."