Fall Ball 2021 Samhain Festival

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'

[I'm unsure if putting pressure on Hugh's wound is an action. If it is then Selim doesn't do it at that moment. I'll instead shift it to the next mod post.]

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'

Relief flooded Juni as she found the nurse. Thank goodness her yelling caught his attention. Really, she was proud of her loud annoying voice. "Right right right, follow me. This way." She had gotten his attention, now she needed to lead the way as he asked. The group was not hard to spot, the giant kid and the crazy Gideon. "Here." She listened to the Nurse call the boy something, and now Juni had a name to match the snake boy. The boy ranted into a long monologue about injuries and Juni just stood there awkwardly.

When the boy mentioned that "that girl" was the cause of the burn, she looked away and pretended to be interested in her fingernails. She made an awkward choking sound, then cleared her throat. Her face was pale, and she felt a bit embarrassed. "I didn't mean- I didn't think- " Cody had cast incendio on Juni one, setting her skirt on fire. Sure, she hurt her leg but it hadn't been serious. She didn't think that a spell could do so much damage.

However, the nurse didn't scold her. Instead, he got to work and started saying orders like a nurse in action. He reminded Juni of both her mother and her father. Her father being in the airforce, and her mother being a nurse herself. The way he took control of the situation.

She was too tiny to carry anyone, really. But that didn't stop her from trying. "I can help Gideon." She said. She carefully made her way to him. "Don't struggle- or think too hard or whatever- I'm going to help you to the nurse... " SHe turned to the nurse. "Will him walking hurt him in anyway? I'll be helping, of course." She looked at the part-giant on the ground. She pointed to him. "Will he- be okay?"

The slugs... right. "There were only three, and they won't be in any good state. They were stabbed, kicked, smashed, and clawed at. "

There had been enough self reflection and growth out of Galton for one night. He had matured too rapidly, fate needed to keep a crown on the Candy King's head. He would not be able to defeat the overinflated sense of pride so easily.

Soon as he cast his spell he felt it. The fear set in as he realized he was not able to move a muscle, arms and legs turned to stone. Down he went. It had been about a year since his wand had last been so dramatic. Spell splitting was normally a proper meal for a wand that desired power; what was more powerful than doubling spells? The wand was, of course, much more refined in it's sense of power, and may have felt that Galton had grown too comfortable in his abilities. Much like fate, the wand would see Galton put in his place.

Fear quickly turned to anger. Galton the Glorious was not supposed to fail his spells. And, if he did, he was not supposed to do it in front of such a crowd. How was he supposed to stand above his peers if he couldn't out cast them?! What would his fans think if they saw him like this? His dueling popularity was surely to take a hit from this. And with all this anger, Galton could do nothing but marinate. To the outside world, the only difference was his elevated breathing as he tried to vent his rage outwards. Something so subtle would likely be hard to notice in the chaos, and so they would just see a living statue of a small boy holding a wand and slug repellent by his side, blood seeping out of the wound exposed.

"Oh, I'm bleeding." Where Galton had been able to ignore it in the chaos, now he felt it. The burning sensation coming from his shoulder; the damp cold robe of matted wool died a deep red from blood was cut open, exposing the wound to the elements. If it stained his robe it would at least match his house colors. The pain only increased the teen's anger. He couldn't scream or thrash about no matter what he tried - and he certaintly couldn't cast to save himself from the pain. He was stuck with his anger and wounded ego for now.

Outfit: Robes (seasonal colors)
Inventory: Wand, repellent for slugs, 2x jelly slugs, sherbet lemon.
Stats/Abilities:

Reducio

STAMINA: 11
EVASION: 12
STRENGTH: 3
WISDOM: 11
ARCANE POWER: 5
ACCURACY: 10

Abilities:
Evasive maneuvers
Spell Spread
Evasive Maneuvers II
Blindvision

Action: Trying to wiggle free if no one helps him, and you know, chilling
Interacts with: Only himself

Post contains swear words.

Interacting with @Caradoc Browne, @Hugh Lowe, @Galton Lansdale, @Erin Ryan, @Selim Faust, @Juniper Kelly

Panic surged through her veins, trying to figure out what in the name of Bodrig was she supposed to do? There was a fourth slug, that she could only hope was as innocent as it looked. There was also a Slytherin, who they could hope was not going to turn into a hag anymore. The imminent threat of this was the reason they were all gathered here right now... mercilessly trying to survive. But others had a different purpose in mind. And the fact that Hugh, who was quickly becoming one of her dearest, was suffering was not something that was lost on her.

Bloom said something aloud about the fourth slug. Something about it being okay. Whether or not that was true was something Serena did not have the time to worry about. Anger surged through her as she heard Hugh's attackers argue. They were verbally debating who was right and wrong in the situation... They were both wrong. In Serena's eyes, they were both wrong. "I'm sorry Erin- I have to go- Hugh... Hugh needs help and I- Please, just be okay- Please. If you need help... please just tell us," She whispered to the Slytherin, releasing her from the hug if it had been allowed or just backing away if it was not accepted in the first place. "Forgive me, Professor but... This. Is. Not. Happening. Not again, not to him," She mumbled, her expression one of disgust and anger as she referenced a situation that she did not know if the professor remembered.

But she remembered it. Hugh had mentioned it not too many days prior. He mentioned it when they were learning about Erin's situation. Even after all of these years... People considered him to be a threat because of his size? What about the monsters who carried knives or considered it appropriate to use their magic against an innocent other?

She did not know what she was meant to do or how to stop this... But she staggered towards Hugh slowly. It was not a long trip but it felt like she was climbing Everest. Every single step took so much willpower, her body shivering in the cold. The only thing that fuelled her movements was anger. The rage burning within, set alight by their actions. Every single word they said was them bringing the oil to cause that fire to burn further. She had half the mind to make them feel the pain that they had caused him. To make them burn. But attacking another student? This was not something she was built to do. There was a reason Serena preferred not to duel. It was not because she was weak or magically inept. It was because she did not want to intentionally hurt people.

The nurse arrived faster than she did. He was focused on... her almost date. Her watery eyes blinked, trying to focus on the boy. Yes. That was Gideon. The guy that Serena almost came with as a date. Or did come with? She had no idea. It did not matter anyway. He was the creepy guy that... she was pretty sure was picking up Erin's teeth? Was he somehow connected to all of this or just a weirdo?

In truth, Serena did not know if there was something about teeth that were useful. Could they be used to convert someone into a hag or like... for polyjuice or something? She had no idea. She just... thought it was him either being really weird and creepy or up to something. But she did not know what he could be up to.

"Will. You. Shut. The. Fuck. Up?" Serena gritted through her clenched jaw, panting as she approached the part-giant that had quickly won a place in her heart. Her glare shot directly to the boy that had been trying to grapple Erin with Howard. She did not know or recognise him. But he was making it seem like he was completely right in his actions. He made it seem like the firestarter was the only one wrong here. He made it sound like he was justified in apparently severing someone's Achilles tendons, as he so proudly admitted. "And stay the hell away from him, you psycho!"

She staggered closer to Hugh, not approaching the kid that she viewed to be nothing short of a monster. Falling to her knees next to him, she pointed her wand at his ankles. She had no idea if this would help but she knew she had to do something. Was this even considered minor? She did not know but she had to try. Someone had to do something. None of them seemed to give a shit about him. Someone had to... care, "Episkey" She whispered, running her hand over his feet. She aimed her spell there, focused on the severed tendon as she heard the boy bragging about it. She did not know enough about muscles or tendons or anatomy to know where or what their names were. By she knew of "Achilles" from Greek mythology and the stories of his heel. By sheer correlation, she searched by his heel and saw the wounds.

Despite staying near Hugh, she addressed her words towards him, a rage burning within her, "Stop acting all high and mighty. Who gave you the right to take away his ability to even run, to potentially paralyse him? You think he's capable of causing damage? Well, what about you? What do we do with monsters like you that take away people's ability to even flee, to save themselves with your hands? Would I be justified in taking away your ability to use those hands that took away his ability to run?" She glared at him. He spoke of the hag slugs. He knew. He bloody knew there were hag slugs and yet he took away someone's ability to run.

The issue she had with him was not just his words, acting as though he was right. But it was that his actions were cold and calculative. He evaluated risks, apparently. He made a decision, knowing the consequences. It was not done on a whim. It was not an action done by someone who was scared or acting out. The firestarter was not right in trying to burn another but she sounded scared like she was just trying to do something... It could have been a mistake, an accident, anything. This boy? He chose to do this on purpose. There were other ways to stop someone, without potentially doing permanent damage to them. The glue spell, for instance, would have done the same thing but would not risk Hugh losing the ability to use his legs.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, as she panted. She glared up at the faces of the attackers, as though burning the memory of the face into her mind. Tears streamed down her face - both out of anger but also out of fear for what might have happened to him, for what could happen to Erin - but they were hidden by the storm. Her body shivered and swayed a little. She felt sleepy? Or dizzy... delirious? She had no idea.

In truth, she was in absolutely no position to fight either of them. If either chose to continue this barrage of attacks, she would be powerless to stop them. But it did not stop her from trying. If either approached, she would grip her wand and point it directly towards them. She would scream at them to stay the hell back. They were warned.

Perhaps if she had the guts to be as strong as Hugh, she might have retaliated. She would have incendio duo-ed the small girl or diffindo-ed the boy's ankles or hands in return. Take away his ability to run or hold his weapon. But she was weak. She did not have the strength or courage to brutally attack them, even if it was revenge.

Or perhaps she knew that an eye for an eye made the whole world blind... Whatever it was, Serena did not attack them. She could not bring herself to. "Hugh... come on, wake up..." She whispered softly, as she moved towards his head, gently running her shaking hand over it as she tried to shake him awake or remove the mud. She brushed some of the hair off his face, pushing it back. She did not know what was wrong with him... what the hell had happened whilst her back was turned? How did she wake him up? What the hell was wrong with this school and why were they hellbent on seeing part-giants as threats at these stupid balls? Ironic given that he was the one who bought them all together for the sole purpose of trying to stop Erin from becoming a hag - to save Erin, to save them all. And this... this was how they treated him in return? Consider him to be a threat that needed to be stopped from "prancing around", just leaving him unconscious in the mud...

SERENA'S ACTION: Episkey [WDC: 17] at Hugh Lowe
Pizza Rat's Action: N/A

Stamina: 10 | Evasion: 13 | Strength: 1 | Wisdom: 15 | Arcane Power: 5 | Accuracy: 10
Abilities: Part-Goblin, Evasive Maneuvers, Beastmaster
Fifth-Year Armour: +10% auto-dodge on attacks [=20% auto-dodge overall]

Pizza Rat 200/200 Health
Can bite a target, inflicting them with 25 damage and a diseases status -1 evasion (stacks up to 3 times) on a single target per attack.

Trunk Items: Wand, Invisibility Cloak, Magical Candle (unlit), Repellent for Slugs (given to Tyranni)
Other Items: Gideon's Sugar-free Candy (acquired here)

Outfit of the Day (with winged boots and wristguard wand holder)

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'

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With the clock striking Midnight, this is the final mod post for the 2021 Fall Ball. Thank you so much for participating, and you are more than welcome to continue to roll for your own actions. It has been an absolute blast putting on this very peaceful and fun festival for you all.

Cats and Candy

The candy king would no doubt be losing followers after his rather poor attempt at the full body-bind curse. He froze himself! And yet he called himself a captain? Galton Lansdale, fortunately, was saved from further embarrassment by the casting of the general counter-spell by one Xailah Alptraum. The boy would not need to wriggle to come free, his limbs loosening on their own as the enchantment faded.

Xailah’s Finite

Wisdom
3 + 13 = 16

Galton is free

Healing and Arguing

Voices were raised, the argument between Selim Faust and Serena Towers loud even over the sound of the falling rain and crackling thunder. Still, both had the same general plan to solve the problem of the crippled part-giant, even if Selim himself was the cause of said problem. The peculiar boy would press bandages against the part-giant’s ruptured achilles, the blood ceasing in its flow, as he dressed the wound. Unfortunately, the giant’s future business partner was not quite so successful with her own attempt to assist the boy. Perhaps her anger coloured the magic, but all her spell managed to do was wound the unconscious part-giant further, colour fading slightly from his cheeks.

Selim Dresses the Wound

Wisdom
13 + 7 = 20

Hugh is not bleeding and is stable

Serena’s Episkey

Wisdom
1

Hugh takes 16 Damage
Hugh health = 1192/1500

Nurse!!!?

It seemed that such issues with performance were not limited merely to Serena. Even professional healers occasionally suffered from poor casting, it seemed. For Kelsey Brumby too had problems with his spell. The blonde boy too would suffer a similar fate to the brunette who had broken his skull. The misfired episkey opening the wound upon his head ever-so-slightly.

Brumby’s Episkey

Wisdom
1

Gideon takes 20 Damage
Gideon health = 155/500

I Promise I Won’t Write “uWu”

Bloom Silverton approached the new slug, the pretty little thing nothing like those that had escaped from Erin’s mouth earlier. In fact, were it not a slimy little pest, one could even call it cute. Entirely harmless, entirely unremarkable.

Mercy of Thor

The rain continued, yet the torrential downpour that had doused student, teacher and slug alike began to slow to a more stable drip. Water would fall among the wounded and their carers, the occasional rumble of thunder or flash of lightning punctuating the moment, but each grew more distant and slower between approaches with each passing moment. The storm had plateaued, there would be no more danger from the decreasing winds, nor from the refreshing drizzle of rain. Whatever had come from the night, it seemed that the worst of the danger had passed.

What Just Happened?

✿ Hugh is injured but stabled
✿ Gideon is injured but stable
✿ Galton keeps bleeding
✿ Slug status? Yeeted

Health Bar

Hugh Lowe 1192/1500 Hadrian Zuheir 200/400 Jürgen Hess 25/500 Tyranni Whitethorn 725/1,100 Percival Gray 300/700 Serena Towers 80/1,000

Galton Lansdale 820/1,100 (BLEED) Erin Ryan 720/800 Jack Burnett 225/600 Sylvie O'Niell 750/900 Xailah Alptraum 900/1,200 Gideon Athanatos 155/500

Hag Slug 1 -5/1,000 (DEAD) Hag Slug 2 -320/500 (DEAD) Hag Slug 3 -262/500 (DEAD)