Fall Ball 2021 Samhain Festival

As usual, there were too many people Jack was worried about. Unfortunately for him, big events like the Samhain Festival were bound to mean trouble if the boy had learned anything from his years at Hogwarts thus far. Often, there were some people who ended up needing more help than others and those who required more watching than others. But it was often difficult to tell who, exactly, those people were until danger reared its ugly head and the involved people were in the thick of it.

There was someone in particular Jack had decided to attend the party to see that night, however; someone he was determined to confront no matter what. He hadn't come with a date nor even a companion, but he wasn't there to enjoy himself or to entertain others. He was there to hunt hags.

There were two girls in particular he wanted to keep a lookout for. Though he didn't believe Erin had become a hag yet, rumors that she was turning into one and that some students intended to do her in increasingly worried Jack. He knew there were those who wanted to try to stop her transformation, including himself, but how successful they were, he had no clue.

In any case, if he spotted her that evening, he hoped to keep an eye on her in the hopes he could prevent people from trying to attack, hurt, or otherwise kill her if they tried. There was also the possibility he could maybe try to prevent her from changing if there was anything at all he could do to stop her. Maybe the least he could do was keep her from taking a bite out of a kid.

The real reason Jack was there, however, was Marion Davenport. She had performed unspeakable acts against Jack's dormmate and he inteneded to make her pay for it or at least undo what damage had been done if she could. How he was going to do that, he didn't know, especially if she was a hag as Flash had said he suspected she was. Still, it wasn't as if he hadn't faced a hag before, right...?

Even if it had taken Erin saving him to get out of harm's way then, at least he'd been exposed to the threat before. He hoped that would make it easier for him to go back up against a hag now - especially while she was still disguised as a Hogwarts student. What were the chances she would expose her true self in the middle of everyone attending the ball?

When he laid eyes on her, she happened to be surrounded by other faces familiar to Jack. Thomas Lestrange was there, for one, and Victor Moore for another. Was she...attempting to reach for Thomas' hair? Should he try to stop her? Was he overreacting?

No, no, he had to stay calm, at least for a little longer. He had to get closer. He couldn't just charge in shooting off spells like some madman out for revenge. That wasn't what he was; at least that's what he kept telling himself.

And then he saw Victor casting a spell at someone else. A girl - two girls? - and as he got closer, Jack thought he recognized them. One was Ileen Knight, Dealla's friend. Victor was reaching out to grab her if she fell. The other was Bridget Collins. On instinct, Jack darted over to try to catch her if she fell, struck by Victor's spell.

"Victor!" Jack whispered harshly, hoping he was loud enough to be heard in closer proximity to the older student. "What's going on? What are you doing?"

Outfit: An old outfit modified to fit his new size this year

Inventory: Wand, Invisibility Cloak, Bluebottle Broom, Locksmith's knife

Action: Entering the Samhain Festival (and trying to catch Bridget? Not sure if this counts as an action, but feel free to dismiss it if it does)

Interacting with: Bridget and Victor

Mentions: @Bridget Collins, @Marion Davenport, @Victor Moore, @Erin Ryan, @Thomas Lestrange

Abilities: Prodigal Charms Learner, Binding Mark, Perfectionist

Stats: Stamina - 6 | Evasion - 7 | Strength - 3 | Wisdom - 15 | Arcane Power - 7 | Accuracy - 7

Post Tracker: [1]

As the cloud in the distance darkening, along with the roaring thunder, chaos would never be absent from Hogwarts, not in the near future, especially with these kinds of students who seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with pandemonium. So much happened in such a limited amount of time.

You froze, I froze

Initiative Roll
Ileen's finite | Victor's Immobulus
2d100 = 93,41

Fortunately, an angel sent from heaven just for the immobilised Bridget Collins. A beautiful girl with fall leaves glued to her body as a dress, with a wand in her hand attempted to cast a counterspell.

Finite Incantatem
Ileen's Wisdom
4 + 11 = 15

Platonic true love could unfreeze a freezing body, and that was exactly what happened and should be a living proof of the existence of love. But little did they know, Victor Moore had other plans. With his advanced spell casting ability, he cast another freezing charm to not just one, but two people. And those unfortunate people were Ileen and Bridget.

Immobulus
Victor's Wisdom
16 + 6 = 22

Victor's Accuracy 4-2+12 (due to spell spread) = 14 Ileen's Eva 2+9 = 11

Victor's Accuracy 4-2+12 (due to spell spread) = 14 Bridget's Eva 18+10 = 28

Immobulus' duration
1d3 = 2 = 1 round

Too bad, Ileen couldn't dodge in time. As if it was contagious, Bridget and Ileen would switch fate, the next thing she would face was her inability to move while Bridget could even jump and twirl if she wanted to, or maybe do a revenge act against Victor.

You Look Like a Snack, Yum

Some people did care for Erin's well being, they wanted to help, while the others wanted to just take her life in order to save themselves and possibly the others. The slug talk made Tyrrani Whitethorn try to cast the slug vomiting charm at the star beater to 'cure' her.

Slugulus Eructo
Tyrrani's Wisdom
7 + 4 = 11

Tyrrani's Accuracy 18 + 10 = 28 Erin's Eva 19 + 13 = 32

Erin's Alluring Power 1 = Nope Tyr's Auto Hit 6 = Nope

Being in the quidditch pitch for years is probably one of the reasons Erin was incredibly fast. Her spell would hit the ground and no slug came out from Erin's mouth. Instead, she would use her mouth for another use.

BITE BITE BITE
Erin's Accuracy
14 + 10 = 24
Tyr's Eva
6 + 7 = 13
Tyr's Seer Auto dodge
5 = Nope
Damage
25 * 15 = 375, and -75 due to bleeding per round (20% of the initial damage)

Erin's teeth were sharp enough to cut with no resistance. A large chunk of skin would be ripped apart, causing an immense sharp pain that the girl wouldn't feel every single day. Tyrrani would bleed, flowing through her ripped flesh, spreading to her dress. Now she would be the best dressed if it were a halloween party.

Your Hair is So Pretty

However, Erin wasn't the only 'danger' of the ball. Marion, on the other hand, is the true hag. She was currently obsessed with ruining Thomas Lestrange's life by doing her secret hag stuff. Her previous attempt to kiss him was a complete failure, would this lock stealing be any different?

Hair Plucking
Marion's Acc
9 + 5 = 14
Thomas' Eva
13 + 10 = 23

Thomas Lestrange? more like Thomas Lefast. Because he's so fast. Get it? Instead of stealing his luscious hair, she would pluck the air instead and the secret hag stuff could be done some other time.

Tape Tape Tape! Break Break Break!

Initiative Roll
Jürgen, Hugh
2d100 = 97, 26

TAPE TAPE TAPE
Auto success because Hugh couldn't walk/evade for one round due to the previous exposimise spell

Without a wand, there was nothing a wizard could possibly do. But not Jürgen Hess, the king of Wizard Tight. He probably had a thousand of it hidden in his dorm somewhere. As if the gluing spell wasn't enough to keep the part giant on the spot, he used his magic tape for precaution. But Hugh Lowe wasn't going to stay still and let him do his thing.

BREAK BREAK BREAK

______________________ Accuracy Check (H vs J) 18 + 7 = 25 vs 6 + 10 = 16 Strength Check (H vs J) 6 + 10 = 16 vs 11 + 4 = 15 Jürgen's Auto Dodge 4 = Nope ________________________________

Which one? 1d4 = 4 = Head 10% chance to stumble, losing the intended action they were about to perform per foot Damage 25 * 10 + 30% = 325

Karma does exist. May his fine pedigree still thrive even with that broken head of his.

The Circle of Life

In the midst of the commotion, between the spells, head breaking, and screams. Galton and Serena had a marvelous idea to make two circles using the slug repellant around the soon to be hag slytherin, Erin Ryan. 8 feet and 6 feet radius. Would that work? We shall see in the next round.

What Just Happened?

- Ileen Knight Successfuly cast Finite Incantatem on Bridget
- Victor Moore Successfully cast Immobulus on Ileen, she won't be able to move for one round while Bridget is free to move.
- Tyranni Whitethorn missed her Slugulus Eructo spell
- Erin Ryan bit Tyranni, she's now bleeding (-75/round)
- Marion Davenport plucked the air
- Hugh Lowe was taped
- Hugh Lowe broke Jürgen Hess' head
- Galton and Serena made two circles of life

Health Bar

Aurora Ranvier 365/500 Hadrian Zuheir 200/400

Jürgen Hess 175/500 Tyranni Whitethorn 725/1100

Selim Text Color: #4d0f25
Aku Text Color: #614f6d

"Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, it seems to me most strange that men should fear seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come."- William Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar'

Selim observed as more and more people kept gathering around the not-quite-human. The large one ended up getting glued, which made the third-year wonder how glue could actually be strong enough to keep a human immobilized, much less a half-giant. It didn't seem physically possible for it, unless perhaps it was actually some sort of concrete mix that just looked like glue.

More shouting and accusations came, and the silent observer ended up learning much more about these 'slugs' they were all so worried about. They were probably cursed by a coven, seemed like the most likely option.

He watched, silent, impassive, and unhelpful as they kept poking and prodding the not-quite-human, which they really should've known to be the wrong thing to do. When a feral animal is cornered... they strike back indiscriminately.

The not-quite-human dodge a jinx, and charged at the caster, teeth bared, and clamped her not-quite-human jaws around them, tearing through flesh easily and effectively putting the unfortunate school girl at risk of both thousands of bacterial infections, a curse, and bleeding out.

Well, that's what happened when you don't use your head enough... you get bitten by a feral teenager with trust issues and get put at risk of septic shock.

Hm, yes.

Selim didn't move an inch to help, just observing, observing unless he felt sure that striking against one Erin Ryan wouldn't end in getting his blood infected by the human-but-not-human bite skill she seemed to favour now. Hopefully, his rotting smell that only she could scent would keep her from taking a chunk out of him.

Passively looking away and yawning idly, he glanced at the happenings around Lestrange.

Mmm, yup, that was a lot of nopes right there. A whole lotta yikes he didn't want to touch with a ten-foot pole. How there were so many people around that can of hell-no was baffling to him, really.

It seemed the very much tainted, cursed, and likely inhuman Marion was close to both making out with him, and luring him into her viper pit to murder. Charming really, you always wanted a girl with those life goals.

Yes, he preferred fighting with the feral animal that was Erin Ryan than that pit viper over there. Good luck Lestrange, do try not to get bitten and injected with a dose of 'consequences' venom. Selim heard it was notoriously dangerous stuff, no antidote exists for it.

A pity, really, Selim didn't dislike the boy, wouldn't wish that upon anyone, but his housemate brought it upon himself, really. That's what happens when you don't take into consideration how your peers will react to you very obviously intending harm on a seemingly innocent student.

Just look where it got the mouse and the bleeding-out girl over here.

Really did not of his hag/cursed-hunting peers know how to be subtle? They should've had some brains, no? They were literally in a school of learning.

Oh wait, Hogwarts only taught children how to use magic that could seriously injure or kill someone, 'common sense', sadly, wasn't a class here. Well... guess everyone has to die at some point in their lives. Perhaps Selim would help dig graves for his deceased classmates, it was the least he could do.

Maybe then some wouldn't come back to life and go through a constant cycle of psychological suffering by living in this brick-and-mortar death trap. Maybe the covens were actually the good guys here and we're just trying to dismantle this corrupted, unsafe school by devouring students or... turning students into new hags, he supposed.

(No, he wasn't pointedly looking at one Victor Moor as he thought that, you're hallucinating from blood loss, that's all.)

...Huh... was a possibility. Anything was possible in this place, really.

Idly he refocused on the fight he was observing, one that he had no intention of interfering with because he preferred not to be killed and/or turned into a hag's personal puppet. He had enough of being a puppet to last him a lifetime already.

Though maybe if he was confident enough he could try to end it all...

Actually... where was Vladimir? Was he also a hag-puppet? Was he fighting against the covens? If so... why wasn't he joining in this little dance around death?

Athanatos was so... confusing, really. He cared about Victor and Marion, at least he was very good at acting like it. Had he made them into these things out of some sort of twisted way to help them? Or was he trying to save them from whatever was going on?

So confusing, quite an outlier really.

Passively the skull-masked Slytherin looked at the dinner table he was vibing beside. Were there any salt-shakers here? Would probably help keep him from becoming a corrupted slug's flesh suit, or whatever in Merlin's name they did to people they assaulted.

Speaking of, another random student had joined in with the game of 'dodge feral Erin's bacteria-festering bite' by setting up a circle of... something. Hopefully, it would actually do something, Selim had no clue what it did, but if it didn't actually do something this student wouldn't just waste time and attention on setting it up, right?.... Right?

They know for sure it'll do something.... right?

....Why in Merlin's name didn't they just bring a hell-ton of salt if they knew they were going up against demon-slugs? Demons hate salt, slugs get dissolved into quivering lumps of jelly by salt, this is a proven thing.

Please, please say they didn't just see something called 'slug-killer' or 'slug-repellant', not look at the ingredients in it, and just hoped to hell and back that it would actually do something against these probably-not-normal slugs.

... Merlin, strike him down now. He didn't know how long he had suffer in this mob-mentality-pit of violent magic-wielding children before he'd get killed by it. Please someone save him from that inevitable torment.

He could feel brain cells dying at he watching this mess of a 'strike-team' go up against a dark being they probably barely comprehended with just wands, unknown bottles of chemicals, and a whole lotta nativity.

Did they know how messed up a hag's curse could probably make their lives? Why weren't they going to the adults that probably actually knew about this stuff? How was he seemingly the only sane person at this ball now? Him????

This was becoming painful. He needed a drink.

So, taking out his canteen of calming tea, Selim took a swig of it while contemplating why in Merlin's name he still went to this school.

As any sane student should. If any others existed, that is...

Full Outfit:

Reducio

It looked as though it was going to rain, as it so often did in the Fall. So many would equate rain to Spring but in Miles's opinion, the average rainfall for Fall wasn't too far off from that of the Spring season. Now he didn't really have the statistics on that to know for fact, but he based it off his intuition. Rain was a good thing though, and he drew in a slow breath as he made his way to the Grounds of the Hogwarts Castle. Miles enjoyed nature, and he loved how this magical school that he was visiting was holding its school dance outdoors; much better than in a stuffy ballroom.

It seemed, that if one was wanting to go to the dance part of the evening, they were to head toward the Quidditch Pitch. There was no need to ask where that was. Not only was a gathering of students ahead of him heading that way, but small lanterns lit the way, and one could see the pitch's large keeper rings from where he was and probably anywhere else on the school grounds. Passing a table, he grabbed a walnut and popped it into his mouth as he exited the entrance area and headed into the Fall Ball.

[Word Count: 214]
[Action: Entering the Fall Ball]

Samantha had been waiting for almost 20 minutes and still nobody had approached her. She wasn't going to waste her night standing with toadstools, they weren't the best company. She was about to leave when she spotted her best friend with Aldor, and a big grin appeared on her face.

She quickly made her way to the couple. "Hi Vivian!" she said enthusiastically and the brunette gave her friend a hug. "Hi Aldor," she gave the boy a slightly awkward smile. Samantha didn't dislike Aldor as a person, she just didn't like the fact that he was Vivian's boyfriend.

Samantha had never been in a relationship, but her sister had and it had always ended in heartbreak for either her sister or the ex-boyfriend. Samantha didn't want Vivian or Aldor to go through that, but in the end it didn't matter what she thought. The most important thing was that Vivian was happy with Aldor.

After Samantha had greeted the two, she stepped back and looked at her friend's outfit. "You look amazing!" It was clear that Vivian had spend a lot of time getting ready, she had even put on make-up, something Samantha would never do.

She then turned to Aldor, who was wearing a purple suit. "You look nice too," she added, she didn't want Aldor to feel left out. To Samantha's surpise on the shoulder of the boy was a grey rat. "Is that your pet or should I be worried that there is a rat on your shoulder?" She asked the boy as she pointed to his shoulder.

Interacting| @Thomas Lestrange | @Jack Burnett | @Percival Grey Mentioning| The General Chaos | @Marion Davenport | @Ileen Knight | @Bridget Collins | @Victor Moore

Outfit Minus the Locket Reducio

Santario finally managed to get over to the Samhain festival as she was leaving. It only then donned on her that Vlad would have been waiting for her, but she would have to feel those feelings of regret some other night. Could she really regret them when she was helping Thomas? After all, not helping him would have hurt her more in the long run… Not that she wouldn’t hurt Thomas more in the long run, but those were semantics that she just couldn’t afford to think about right now.

She stopped close to Thomas, but not near enough to stop him from taking evasive actions from Marion. Merlin, why did she really think that for once she could wear a dress? No more balls. The fantasy in her head was shattered and broken. Her eyes landed on Jack Burnett, Percival Grey, and Victor Moore. “PERCIVAL, JACK!” She had never used Burnett’s first name before, not that she could remember. “Victor died a year ago, we know it. That is a porcelain shell full of bugs. A very cruel effigy for a centipede created by the hags! I did not feel a pulse, but I did feel bugs!” She turned back to Thomas “Explain target choice, please, loudly.” She said almost breathlessly through gritted teeth as her dirty fingers gripped her wand.

Would Marion know? Would she expose Santario? Something told her that Marion was still her enemy but somehow slightly less than those around her. More importantly, San was a danger to those she cared most about. She had started fire hopefully to rally those to the cause, something others seemed unable to do. That, however, didn’t mean she would be able to stay for it… There was too much at stake no matter what, and everyone there would turn on her if they knew. She needed to survive… Could she do at least one thing before running away? Maybe. She could not cast the counter curse on Ileen. Even just thinking about its existence made her want to scream. Bridget was unbound, though, and she might be able to help the girl, so if those two boys could pull their heads out of their arses and take a stand and fight, they could tackle Victor, the minor of the threats on the table.

She needed to be able to do one last good thing before she lost herself totally... Before they knew what she was and decided to kill her like they were doing with Erin right now... Just one last good deed that she could be punished for later.

Action| IF Thomas says that Marion is a hag Santario casts Immobulus at her.

Mentions: @Victor Moore | @Bridget Collins | @Percival Rainwood | @Thomas Lestrange | @Marion Davenport | @Santario Martin

Ileen should have known. She simply should have known! Nothing good happend at balls. So far, she had gotten off easy at every school event. She had attended none in her first year, which was part of the reason she knew nothing about the hags and their dolls. She had seen Marion only in passing and even Victor she had only met the day he had died.
She saw the expression on his face when she joined the group to help. He looked dismayed as if he was shocked to see her. That stung her, but she couldn't really interpret it.
The words came at her in a different way than she had expected. He asked her to leave. He asked her to stay out of it. Out of what? Well, it was too late for that. Why would she tussle with Victor or any other person here?

Her dark brown eyes were fixed on Bridget in confusion as she released the curse from her, full of question marks directed at the boy she felt strangely connected to. Why would Bridget attack someone? What was going on here anyway?
While she was still trying to grasp the situation and process the flood of information, something happened that she definitely hadn't expected. She could no longer move. For the second time in her life, she was suddenly motionless. Unable to do anything, not even to stay on her feet. And this time it was not her own failed spell. She couldn't believe, as she began to slump, that it had been Victor. The last time this curse had hit her was at the side of someone she trusted. She had hit the ground hard and Percoval had freed her. This time a trusted person had casted the spell on her. But when she began to stagger with frozen limbs and lost her footing, she did not hit the ground. Victor had caught her. She could not move a muscle. She just stared at him in surprise.

Santario's voice flew to her. And Ileen was even more confused than before. Everything began to revolve around her. She would have liked to just close her eyes and wait for everything to be over. But she could do nothing. She could do nothing at all. She just kept staring up at the boy with wildly circling thoughts.

Action: Being frozen and staring at Victor
Ability: Sixth Sense, Prodigal Charms Learner, Healing Sage
Stats: Sta:8 | Ev:9 | Str:3 | Wis:11 | Arc:6 | Acc:11

• Creatures of the Lake •

"Oooh, wow. It's getting juicy, Thomas!" Sylvie shook the poor boy's shoulder excitedly. She always did enjoy a bit of a scuffle, a little excitement. As the two kids neared the heated argument, Sylvie finally slowed to a stop close by to listen to what exactly was being said. It seemed quite serious and sooner than later Sylvie's ever joyous face fell into a little frown.

There was a tall boy, much taller than Sylvie herself, and one of her duelling captains appearing to protect another girl. "What do you think is going on…? Did he say murder?" She whispered to her partner in crime, watching on with great interest. 


Hag? Well now. That seemed rather rude to say. She thought the girl looked rather pretty. Feral was a look that Sylvie admired. Clearly. In her opinion, Erin looked like quite the girlboss-- OH. Oh! She was biting the young lady now… There was so much going on that she had to take a moment to digest, giving Thomas a bewildered glance. "Why is he calling her a hag? That's not nice! She's just trying to defend herself, look!" She stomped a foot and pointed at the fight. If those other boys were protecting Erin, she couldn't have done anything wrong, right? "I should go over there and give them a piece of my mind, I think." She began to roll up her sleeves.

Now, Thomas had more sense than this child. Hopefully he would attempt to put a stop to this nonsensical conclusion his friend had come to.

Action: Watching the Erin Ryan drama unfold.
Interactions & Mentions: Interacting with @Thomas Baines
Mentioning @Erin Ryan, @Hugh Lowe, @Galton Lansdale, @Jürgen Hess in narration

───────────────── ♛ ─────────────────

SAMHAIN FESTIVAL

Interacting With: @Selim Faust
Mentioning: N/A
Hex Color: #800000

───────────────── • ─────────────────

Autumn had finally returned to the school grounds, and regrettably so – the air, for one, had grown quite bitter, a spiteful sting to its cold tendrils as it carelessly whistled through the halls, taking with it the warmth and comfort previously residing within its boundaries. Nature, of course, had only reeled in disgust at her chilling return, for with the presence of the winter winds came the annual larceny of her very vitality. The trees, once adorned with the veridian stamp of life, mourned the loss of their vital warmth with the garnishing of red and gold as far the countryside rolled. The flowers began to suffocate, slowly losing their luster as they keeled towards the ground that had once permitted them life. Even the animals, both creature and critter alike, seemed to have fled the arrival of winter’s deadly bite – or, in the least, made themselves quite scarce, in the hopes of protecting themselves from the same fate as the biosphere surrounding them. Scotland had grown resentful of her charges once again, as per her usual schedule. Laughable.

Yet, the bitterness the Captain felt deep within his chest had little to do with the reciprocation of mother nature’s spirits and everything to do with the impending festivities that proceeded their arrival. Truly, it was no surprise that the young man found the annual spite returning to his attention with the changing of the seasons – after all, it wasn’t as if he’d had the best track record with these sorts of events. He wasn’t exactly sure when he’d lost his faith in the safety of the festivities, whether it had been between the giants or the vampyr mosps, failed tackles or voodoo dolls, but he could at least assert that each and every ball-like event hosted within the school’s grounds had been in some way cursed, destined to experience some sort of deadly or vicious attack on the student body. Was it a wonder that the school still hosted such events? Absolutely. Was it a guaranteed risk to both the Captain’s physical and mental health? That much had been made more than clear. The Captain still found himself in the midst of the festivities, however, dancing and laughing and fearing for his life bi-annually, like clockwork. It wasn’t something he could really explain in words, per se, because one could hardly explain a feeling such as the intuitive one he always seemed to receive mere days before the ball. Perhaps he thrived on the feeling danger? The discord that befell his presence regularly? He tried to not give it too much thought, lest he spiral down a path of thought he’d rather not disturb.

Anyways, there wasn’t even a guarantee that disaster would return. Really, what were the odds of someone dying? Again?

Shaking his head definitively, the Captain returned to the present – or, more specifically, the magnificent visage that was the Samhain Festival. Despite the many reluctances berating against his senses, he could at least find some solace in the pleasing aesthetics of the ball, the colorful fall-inspired scenery tugging a smile upon his pink lips. Planners really outdid themselves this year, he mused to himself, running a hand against a red toadstool and reveling in the smooth feeling of its surface. The whole scene was quite pleasing to the eyes, if the Captain did say so himself, and he took pride in being rather well-versed in the eye-pleasing pleasures of life. Speaking of pleasing to the eyes, the young man also took quite a great deal of pride in his last-minute visuals – specifically, a black suit with a black t-shirt underneath, as well as a chain belt he’d dug out of the lost-and-found. Typically, the Captain didn’t appreciate the usage of jewelry, but no such repulsion could convince him against wearing a rather sharp pendant, a fashion choice carefully-designated for a highly-anticipated emergency circumstance. [His wand, on the same note, presided just beneath his left sleeve – the lesser-utilized of his two dominant hands, in the not-so-rare case of necessary confrontation.] However, perhaps the most notable feature of his inky ensemble was the not-so-obsidian hue of his hair, which he had dyed once again, on this occasion black with blue streaks. Was it a temporary job or long-term? As much remained to be seen. He had taken quite a liking to it, however, and was leaning towards the former.

Having grown bored of the toadstools, he allowed his gaze to wander, from the fauna to the inhabitants of the event, this time landing upon another, more curious sight – specifically, a small figure dressed similarly in black, though his ominous robes bore no semblance to the Captain’s own outfit. What could such a figure possibly be? A few steps forward and the brushing of his bangs out of his eyes would finally confirm his original suspicions, and the Captain barely suppressed a laugh as he evaluated the gross contrast of the figure’s dress to his similar ballgoers – it was quite funny, wasn’t it? The grim reaper had chosen to attend the ball? Ah, the Captain was feeling ambitious, perhaps he’d go push some buttons. It wasn’t as if he had anything better to do. Tucking his hands behind his back and schooling his mischievous look into a barely-concealed gaze of amusement, he slowly approached the figure from behind, bangs falling annoyingly into his eyes and in his eyes as he bent to whisper in the mysterious figures ear. “What are we looking at?” he asked in a whisper. In the case that his words garnered a glance, he would offer a little smirk, displaying his malicious intent in a very small yet evident display. His eyes would turn in the direction he assumed his new acquaintance was glancing in – what, then, was the object of the reaper’s mysterious attention?

STA _____ 10 EVA _____ 8 STR _____ 9 WIS _____ 12 ARC _____ 2 ACC _____ 9

STATS & ABILITIES Interception Reducio When a Quaffle is being passed, users with this ability automatically get a chance to Intercept the quaffle. This does not replace their normal action for the round. This put the quaffle in your and by extension you teams' possession. Also, if the Quaffle is dropped for any reason, you would automatically (without it taking up an action) attempt another Quafflegrab. At present there would be no mid-round way to drop a quaffle due to the order of operations, however there will be certain effects in future patches that can cause this effect. Catch Reducio Able to catch two falling players on your broom when playing Quidditch. These additional caught players would be brought to the ground safely and they would be allowed to retrieve their broom and enter play again the next round. This can be done every round as the player's action if they choose to do so. With brooms that have the feature where an additional player may be caught (such as Bluebottle) where there is a stackable chance of failure with each additional person caught, there is no stacking failure chance for players with this ability. Perfectionist Reducio You have a reduced critical failure chance range by 1. In addition, you can counter up to 1 point of additional critical failure chances caused by abilities or spells (not potions). In other words, if you have an extended critical failure chance range (as is the case with certain races, the effect of certain spells or potions), this reduces that range by 1. So if you have a +2 critical failure chance range (meaning if you roll a 1,2, or a 3 you critically fail), this ability makes it a +1 critical range instead (meaning if you roll a 1 or a 2 you critically fail).

Action • observing the scene Selim's invested in and trying to find clues

◈Interacting◈
Henrietta Montagne^{@Levi Drakos,} Felix Kolbeck^{@Winnie Harper}, and his beloved @Rafael D'Spacito
◈ Closed to Interactions ◈

In truth, when he was initially not planning on coming to the ball at all. Sure, he had packed a signature all maroon suit that he had worn last year just in case the opportunity took him by surprise. But by all means he didn't think a prank like this would get him here. It was supposed to be to see his boyfriend, to spend the night dancing and swaying to music. Laughing and being able to hold each other before they had to go back to sending owls back and forth wishing to be together again.

Between the banquet where Rett had initially met Felix to now, him and Ret had met and concocted a scheme to switch out every now and again to really sell that she was a metamorphmagus. The goal of the night: avoid kissing the boy. He didn't ask how far into the relationship they were, but Rett refused to go that far in the name of a prank. It felt wrong, especially since he was dating someone. But most of all, a kiss of a deception was not a consensual one.

His suit didn't go with the yellow theme, but he had an excuse already set up. He didn't usually wear yellow, it washed him out. But he had to admit, Ret looked absolutely natural in the color. Rett had slipped into the ball and hid in an area that felt like what they had agreed on. The point of the game now was to wait until Ret found him. It didn't take long, and Rett was actually shocked that it was his turn so soon. He hooked the necklace on with the ease of many years of helping his mother with her necklaces. He also double checked that the fake septum ring she had provided for him was properly secure. He couldn't help a playful wink at the girl, "Couldn't dream of it."

He took his time weaving through the crowd, after all he had to make it believable that he had changed and found the time to come back. He shook any thoughts of Rafa out of his head, this wasn't a time to be mopey. There was chaos to be brought.

"Darling, I'm so sorry about that." The voice dripped with sweetness rounded out with fuzzy warmth like poached peaches in molasses. "Just needed a change." His hand came up to fiddle in with the necklace as he took in the scene of the ball. There was already chaos unraveling, not surprising. But he wasn't trying to get involved in that. The school, or whoever the students that planned this, had really gone all out this year. There was his handsome Quidditch captain of a boyfriend in the crowd. Seriously, the decorations were phenomenal. Rett briefly wondered if there was any food-

Rett's heart stopped. Immediately his act was dropped as his eyes locked back onto his boyfriend who was supposed to be too busy to come to the ball, to see him. He had come. Rett's hands quickly fumbled to get the necklace off of him and shoved into Felix's hands. "Too much to explain, this was all a ruse. Ret is over there somewhere. Apologies, my boyfriend is here." He gestured to where their meeting place was before practically launching himself at Rafael.

"Rafa!" Truly he couldn't care less about the person that was standing beside Rafa, possibly in conversation with him. He gently held Rafa's face and kissed him with the fervor of a teenage boy who hadn't seen his boyfriend in months. "You weren't- You weren't supposed to be here. But you are. My love, I've missed you so." Rett pulled Rafa in tightly and buried his face in the tall boy's chest to hide the fact that tears were building in his eyes. "There are no words that I could pull from even the greatest romance novels to tell you how happy I am to see you." His secret of being absolutely obsessed with romance novels, so much so that he wanted to be one someday had long been confessed to Rafa between their exchanged letters.

Rett was happy, more happy than he thinks he's ever been.

◈ Permission given to be affectionate and gross with Rafa ◈
◈ Action: Entering the Ball ◈