Blossom Fest The Cabins Event

I’ll post tomorrow

Aurelia must have missed or her spell had not been effective. She could not tell which one it was but the heat seared the side of her leg. As the building beside her was lit on fire. Aurelia had been burnt badly once and the feeling of her flesh blistering was bad as it once was. But she felt the man’s grip falter and seized the moment escape far from his grasp, limping slightly as she did. The burn was guaranteed to leave another scar to her chagrin.

As soon as she manage to escape the man’s view, Aurelia found herself leaning against a tree, sucking through her teeth in pain. Why did she had to be so unfortunate. Mari. She heard the girl call out her name in distress. Damn it. Doubt could continue, the pain on her leg hurt unbearably. But Mari needed help and Aurelia wasn’t going to leave her with those men.

The building on fire produced enough light for her to see where the men were standing at, they were dragging Mari along. Aurelia took her wand out, contemplating the spell she should use. However, Aurelia was not sure of her own potential and accuracy, DADA and Charms lesson hadn’t exactly been much help in that area over the semester. Instead, Aurelia took out her pointed shoe. She would rather be barefoot than to amble on heels with a burnt leg. So with that shoe, she threw both heels as hard as she could in the direction of the kidnappers, hoping that perhaps one of the pair would knock them out or at least leave a nasty bruise.

Actions: Throw Heels at the Kidnappers

Okay, the spell was pretty...well, it hadn't worked to say the least and the kidnappers seemed to be not concerned about anything in the slightest. Sure, maybe the Incendio that Elena had cast was a bit helpful but other than that, nothing seemed to be going too..great. "As far as I'm concerned, the only ones walking out of this unscathed is us."Coming to the conclusion that perhaps any basic magic tha the Gryffindor had in store would perhaps not be of use against such older opponets, she resorted to her other weapon. Her limbs. Pocketing her wand, the girl glanced at her companions once before at the chaos before her."Over here, you joker!"She shouted the words at the man trying to drag Mari off breaking out a run as fast as her legs would carry her.

The other victim of this kidnapping attempt flung her shoewear at the clowns, whether it was successful or not, she didn't pause to see focused on the man shrinking farther and farther away from the scene."Geronimoooooo!"She hurtled towards the man attempting to slam into him with all the force she could muster and for good measure, would throw in a punch or two to the man's face to disorient him in order to give the girl some time to break free and get the heck out of there. This is probably the stupidest idea you've had all year.Well, there was no rewind button so might as well try their best. It would be a miracle if this all went according to plan. Nothing ever went to plan...nothing.

Action 1: Attempting to tackle Bad Guy 1

Action 2: If Action 1 is successful, attempting to punch Bad Guy 1 twice in the face

There were two options: Fight or flight. Opposing forces that assured the survival of their progenitors, their peers and for the sake of posterity their progeny as well so long as they used it. It would have been safer if they just ran away and left the heroics to the heroes. If they were clever enough to outwit these troglodytes. If they were cunning enough as to know when they were physically and potentially magically outmatched and took the opportunity to run away.   

But the Gryffindors and Slytherins were going to fight back. The Gryffindors tended to be dashing, heroic and yes stupid. But that was just their nature, bravado was in their blood. The Slytherin was more careful, keeping distance between herself and the abductors. The key word there was. @Elena Jones was becoming as reckless as her cohorts as she snatched Anatole's weapon, a simple probably not very sharp blade from his person. 

"Periculum!"

Roll: 20

Jones shouted and a burst of color shot from her wand. It was like a roman candle had went off in their face, temporarily blinding the men and yes Mari as well. Armed with a knife Elena would lunge at one of the assailants. The attack was unexpected, he was temporarily blinded. The girl would attempt to slice into the burly man.

Attack (Elena) 16 + 8
Evasion (Blinded -5) 20 + 15

She misses as the man shrugs her off and attempts to knock her into the building.

Attack: 12
Evasion: 7

Uninjured but in a retreat, their prize was not worth shedding blood, they had the tearful Hufflepuff and that was enough for them. "I dont feel like murdering extra kids, and that is twice the punk-rocker kid set off fireworks. The fucking cavalry is likely on its way," he warned. This was becoming too much of an effort for them, they were not even the ones that were supposed to pick up some lonesome kid. Some kid that was left alone at the dance, neglected my their contemporaries and peers. Seeking someone to comfort them, give them a place and the companionship that they yearn for... because kids can be so cruel. The world was astonishingly even more heartless.

As one of the men started to carry @Mari Haynes away, @Elena Jangleton tried to chase the men down. Her tiny legs carried her faster than the men's brisk pace, burdened by a sobbing tween. It was a nice, courageous consideration but she was using her body to thwart the kidnappers instead of sticks and stones, wands or knives. 

Rolls: Not needed, he is not evading.

A flurry of kicks and punches from the girl, the ruffian would tighten his grip of Mari and lean forward. Flanked by his allies, the man would grunt "snag the kid if she is so damn insistent on coming."

One of the men would attempt to peel Jangleton off of their partner. 

Attack: 14 + 15
Evasion: 10 + 10

One of the men, wearing a cut-off red shirt and pair of dirty blue jeans would attempt to grip the girl by her arms and drag her along. "Don't make this any harder than necessary," it was an implied threat that he would hurt her without remorse if she gave him the same troubles that she gave his partner. 

Strength Roll (Grapple)17 + 15
Strength Roll (Escape) 20 + 5 (crit)

She was not strong enough to escape, his grip was too strong. There was no sympathy in his voice and his grip was exceptionally cruel. It was in this moment that the girl likely realized that she might actually die as he dragged her off, perhaps a hundred meters from the site of her abduction when by providence alone (critical success) she was able to wiggle herself free. With a stumbling step, she could either lay on the ground and wait for her kidnapper to scoop her up again but he didn't. 

A pair of heels were chucked in their direction. @Aurelia Bezuidenhout was already injured, the fire had scalded her leg. She could walk, well limp but she could not run and she could not take chase. She would likely feel the flesh of her leg crinkle like tissue paper and stretch like a painful rubber band pulled taut as she bent and straightened her leg to retrieve her heels. It was a wold notion, using her shoes as a projectile but it was all that she had.

Throw: 8 + 15 
Evasion: 9
Throw: 2 + 15
Evasion: 11

The shoes would miss the retreating men. They would scowl at the errant footwear turned weapons. "We got one of them still," one of the men reminded them. "That will be enough to pay their toll." Yes, they did not want the children directly for their purposes, but they were seen as nothing more than a commodity to them. Mari did not know it but she was probably going to die tonight. She might have thought that it would have been at the hands of these men, rather something even more vile than a greedy man. She had only one option, while valiant as they were these students would not be able to release her. @Mari Haynes was going to have to fight back or she was going to die.

Bite: 9
Evasion: 15

She was not fast enough, but her desperate bid for freedom would cause the man to lose his grip on her temporarily as he instinctively moved his arm away. He had not lost his grip on her entirely, his other arm still tightly gripping the girls wrist that twisted painfully as she fell to the ground. He would not stop as he dragged her along, but she would have a chance now to escape.

Attempt to break free (DC 15) 11 + 6 

She is able to rip herself loose and scurry away, likely faster than she knew that her feet could take her. Her wrist would be sprained, her knees skinned and her skin would feel hot as if she was sunburned on only part of her body from the incendio that likely in part saved her life. Of course there would be a cabin that was starting to catch fire, if Elena's other spells did not draw attention perhaps the fire would. 

The men were not going to pursue the Hufflepuff as she broke away and the men would retreat into the woods. They had their chance and they seemed like they were not the type to try to take on a wizard powerful enough to put up a good fight. Cowards, yes. Dangerous, still yes. "Fucking dammit!" One of the men shouted in frustration. "Don't worry about it, we were not supposed to snatch the kid anyways. Calvin was."

The kidnappers leave the topic. The cabin is smoking, a fire has started (it is tradition) and people are potentially on the way. Yes, if someone wants to be attracted to the fireworks (because it takes several minutes to reach here and this all happened over the course of a few minutes) they can by all means do so. Learn about what is going on.

¥

The periculum was beautiful, the red sparks working exactly how they were meant to. If Elena wasn’t screaming at the kidnappers she might’ve laughed in triumph.

The knife didn’t make it to the man’s neck, at least the girl didn’t have to worry about the emotions that may come with the action. Remorse, vindication, hell it may have even turned her into a monster. None of that mattered though, as she whooped in pride of Jangleton following suit, and staggered back to offer Aurelia a crisp high five for her own contribution to the cause. Nothing brings enemies together like a traumatic event right?

Mari and Jangleton has broken free, and as the men retreated, Elena turned and threw up into the nearest bush. Fear caught up to her for a moment before her mad resolve was reinstated.

“Good job everyone, good thinking with the shoes Aurelia, nice to work with you again. Love your style Jangleton, and Mari? It’s Mari right? You did an excellent job there at the end, fucking them up like that.” Elena’s cockney accent had slipped back in and she laughed bitterly, “But work is never done, did you hear them? There’s another kid, time to jet my darlings! I’ll see you on the other side! Anatole, get Mari to the hospital, anyone who wants to help me feel free to follow!”

With another laughing whoop worthy of the lost boys, Puck flipped her knife, catching it by the hilt and racing off into the forest.

Elena Jones has left the thread, bound for the A Meeting: Post Blossom Ball Thread.

By pure chance, she had broken free. As the men ran away, Mari collapsed on the ground of the cabin, disregarding everything around her for the time being. What had once been an event that she looked forward to turned towards disaster, and she was beginning to wish that she was back home in Holt, with her mum, dad, and two sisters. She wouldn't know magic nearly as intimately as she did at Hogwarts, perhaps not at all, for Mari knew that Isa would have likely not disclosed her children's magical abilities had Hogwarts not extended an invitation for Mari to attend. And now...now, in the face of kidnapping and destruction, Mari wished that letter had never come, for then this moment of pure fear would have never come, and her life would have been as simple and whimsical as usual.

As she wailed pure shrieks, she came to realize that one of her rescuers was speaking to her. What she said, Mari did not know; her brain had turned to mush. Instead, she was fixated on the fact that the cabins had turned aflame and that her wrist suddenly ached. It appeared that it was sprained. Still uncertain as to what the girl had actually said, Mari merely nodded to the girl who had run away, laughing, though internally, she was struck with irritation that the girl seemed that it was all a joke. She had nearly died and all this girl could do was laugh? She frowned.

The cackle of flame awoke her to the situation as she rose and turned towards the others. She needed to get out of here. This whole night had been a disaster. "Thank you," Mari murmured, cradling her sprained wrist.

She wanted to say more but felt a crippling inability to do so. Instead, Mari scurried away from the cabins, from the ball itself, and made her way to the Hufflepuff common room. She would not heal her injuries, though it would, perhaps, been wise to do so. The scars and lingering pain would be with her, possibly forever. All she wanted was peace. And though she would no longer be able to sleep soundly, she knew that peace would best come in her bed, in the quiet solace of her dormitory.

Mari Haynes may have escaped a possible kidnapping but internally, life was changed forever.