You Can Be Anything

[Al]

((Sept 4th.  Open to those taking the transformation via potions class.  Since the actual shape-shifting will be done by spells, potentially anyone with interest can join.  Thread starts after the bell, so students are already there...unless you wanna be late - that's cool too))


Being able to turn into an ungodly abomination of nature at will had its perks - and the monster form was pretty handy too.  Unfortunately, the terrible sun was up so the teacher was confined to a human body in order to spare everyone the displeasure of smelling his burning imp flesh.  The good news was that Al's human body was sufficiently creepy anyway: it was probably the horror-themed clown makeup, or the dapper business suit clashing horribly with a fuzzy purple boa.  But really, it was the outfit, right?  Al taking a human form was the only way he could stand in sunlight, but that didn't mean he had any intentions of blending into a crowd, no sir.  If it became shady enough in the classroom, he'd probably demonstrate a successful transformation for the little tykes.

Al had things ready before class began so they could start off as soon as possible.  He was looking forward to the likely failures of the first lesson.  As he had been supplied an apparently limitless supply of magic ingredients, Al wasn't shy about getting real shape-shifting done right on the first day.  The supplies were up at his desk.  Honestly, he didn't trust his students.  The ingredients would be passed out when the time came.  Al figured his class would end up useful.  After all, if everyone was going to be killing each-other gladiator style, turning into something scary and/or powerful would do wonders.  Al really liked using his powers for pranks and fun, not to fight.  It was unfortunate really what his knowledge would be used for; only human beings could come up with something as cruel as child fights.  

Along with his title of "Mr. von Featherz", written on the board were various other notes he deemed would be helpful.  Of which included little gems like; "Choose your additional forms wisely.  Something sentient is a good idea.  (unless you really want to be table - I won't judge)", "Please do not snort the magic dust.  It's not fun.", "If you desire to bring in live specimens for class, please make sure that you can properly control your specimen and it does not kill fellow students.", "Remember; taking on the largest and most powerful forms can make it difficult for you to control yourself.  If you do not wish to be trapped as a bloodthirsty beast for all eternity, stick to less powerful forms until you are experienced.".

Upon his desk did the teacher sit.  Beside Al was a small collection of bottles full of brightly colored substances and a glass cage full of mice, rats, hamsters and other small rodents.  The strange clown-man cracked his knuckles, signaling he was ready to start teaching.

"Before we begin the fun, please copy the notes on the board so you may refer to them as you study.  They're pretty important things to remember," Al said, a smile of grey teeth stretching across his face.

[Sunset Shimmer]

Sunset Shimmer thought that the teacher was well...crazy looking but that didn't bother her. She was looking forward to learning this magic. It would be like learning better magic than Celestia ever had taught her. Her cyan eyes went to the board, and frowned. Notes. Of course. And she didn't have some poor loser she could blackmail then to do it for her.

Oh well. No harm done. Flicking some hair over her shoulder, the girl took up a pen and started to write them down in a back notebook. She couldn't help but wonder how the class would go and if there would be any funny mess-ups. Maybe someone would run out crying. Oh, she would love that.

[Penny Peterson]

This hadn't been the kind of class she'd been expecting when she'd signed up here; still, Penny Peterson had been intrigued enough to venture along to the transformation class. Presently, she sat at a desk near the middle of the classroom, and though her young form looked slightly dwarfed by the other students present, Penny looked collected and unfased, with her uniform neat and her pen out ready to take down the notes; looking every bit the good teacher's pet she liked to come off as.

Looks, of course, were decieving; while she was indeed an attentive student, she was also the would-be alpha bitch on the block, and not one to be messed with - as anyone who showed her up in one of her classes would soon find out.

Penny couldn't help but frown slightly at the teacher as she got to work copying down the writing from the board. Living in New York City, she had seen her share of bizarre people; but this man certainly took the cake. She wasn't scared by him - and wouldn't have admitted it even if she was - but he certainly seemed to be aiming to give off a distinctly creepy vibe, and Penny kept an eye on him even as she wrote. Within a few minutes the notes, as strange in nature as the teacher himself, were copied down, and Penny clipped the lid back onto her pen and sat back to wait for what was next.

In the interim she gave her green tie a brief check, as if she even needed to make sure it was still in place, but otherwise gave no sign of discomfort with the uniform. Shirts and ties had been the norm for her ever since she'd started at elementary school, and she had long since acceptec the uniform without fidgeting with it in the way she saw other students doing.

[Al]

Al occupied the short amount of time he provided for note-taking by twirling the end of his boa.  A somewhat bored expression crossed him as his eyes drifted toward the window.  Still not enough cloud cover to make him comfortable.  Sunlight was tricky business.  If it became overcast, he might get away with changing to a monstrous form with not more than a sunburn.  But, oh well.  Who could fault him for wanting to look like a weird owl creature?  Perhaps his students would understand the concept of having a favorite body once they began to learn.  Speaking of which... joy!  It seems that everyone was finished writing.  Even if they weren't, Al was moving forward anyway.  Those notes couldn't've been all that important anyway.  The little clown straightened his back and in the blink of an eye, he'd jumped from his desk and was beside the blackboard.  Al took the eraser and made a big swipe across what he'd previously written.  He proceeded to decorate the board with completely awful illustrations.  One of them looked like a rat drawn by someone with absolutely no talent...using their non-dominant hand.  Al scratched various arrows around the diagram, succeeding in making it make no sense at all.  And all this he did in about thirty seconds.

Luckily though, he explained himself, "Lesson number one, kiddies, is learning how to temporarily turn yourself in a fairly simple animal.  You'll notice those adorable little snacks - I mean, animals, over there?  You, if you are successful, will be able to change into such an animal.  However, remember how I said 'temporarily' a few moments ago?  Unless you're slow, you'll have realized this is not a permanent spell.  When done properly, you will turn into your selected form for a limited time - or until you decide to change back...mind you, doing so at will takes practice, so you'll probably remain a rodent for roughly thirty minutes anyway.  When you have returned to your normal body, you won't be able to become a rodent at will again.  Consider this a one-time transformation - a mere novelty.  Making yourself transform without needing to create this potion again is more difficult.  We'll work our way up from here."

Al turned his head to look at the supplies spread out on his desk.

"For this particular spell, you will need the following; two goose gullets, three ounces of magic dust, a harpy claw, five bay leaves and ground pepper.  And, finally, you will need one of the animals - this will be the creature you're transforming into.  I'll allow you to chose any one of the little vermin you like," he said, "I ask that you collect your supplies civilly and do not fight over which mouse or rat you want."