16 May 2019, 01:06
Sticks & Stones
If anyone were to be out in the grounds of Hogwarts, then a first year Slytherin wouldn't have been out there. But alas, there was no one else hiding out here, so she was free to roam. Her face was guarded by layer upon layer of protective emotion, and underneath her robes she hid a wand and a knife sheathed in a homemade sheath of leather.
The knife was just in case she needed to use it - what if she got tied to something or had to cut off part of her dark leggings if she got cut? It was mostly for practicality, but she wasn't afraid to use it on anyone who tried to attack her. She prowled the grounds, eyeing for anything that might jump out at her, but she couldn't see anything. Good.
Her robes swished in the wind, catching the current. It was actually beginning to get quite cold, so she pulled up her hood to try and protect herself from the wind. It would only provide a bit of cover...
Koko figured it was too bad. She would just have to deal with the god damn wind. She kept her hand on her concealed wand, mostly because it was getting hard to see out here, and then she finally whipped it out. "Verdimillious," she whispered, waving her wand.
Of course thousands of green sparks shot out of it. Now she could see. It was a slight alternative to Lumos because she didn't yet know the wand-lighting charm. Now... At least she wouldn't trip over a rock or anything... A sigh escaped her lips as she realised that she was all alone. Shit, she thought, There's no one here to bother. So she would just have to bother herself.
[pc] koko riddle · 'pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.'
'it always starts and ends with birds.' · cyrus darsel [inpc]
18 May 2019, 03:20
Sticks & Stones
A burst of light, a flash of shimmering panic that lit up the sky for a few seconds before retreating back into the dark obscurity. The night sky had been illuminated, alive, but only for a second. Just long enough for things to notice. Creatures too terrifying to be easily imagined that lurked in the forest and in the grounds themselves turned their heads towards the source of the light. But it was not only creatures that turned their heads.
There was a dull *wump* sound as a surprised boy fell out of a tree. He had succumbed to his exhaustion, and had been laying down on a rather thin branch until the blast of light both woke him up and sent him hurtling out of the tree to land unceremoniously on the ground below.
Kaegen picked himself up off the ground slowly, peering out to try and discover what exactly had startled him out of his tree. It took him a solid minute to detect the movement, to see the vague outline that told him there was another student there in front of him. He didn't want to be talking to anyone, he didn't really have a reason to be doing anything, much less socialize. Why was someone out here this late anyway?
Wait, it was late, he had missed curfew. Usually this would not have bothered him as much as it did, but whenever Kaegen broke a rule it was because he had a reason. What reasonable excuse did he have this time? That he fell asleep? He breathed deeply to calm himself down, but paused.
The wind was blowing towards him, from the girl. He could smell her pretty clearly, and she smelled familiar. It was not a pleasant smell. Or maybe it just had bad memories attached to it? He didn't know, and didn't really want to find out. He stood the rest of the way up, wind silently whipping about his scarf. Should he say something? Do something?
"People don't come out after dark unless they have business here."
Well, that was something anyway. More of a challenge than anything else, but he didn't know what else to do, and didn't really care all that much anyway.
There was a dull *wump* sound as a surprised boy fell out of a tree. He had succumbed to his exhaustion, and had been laying down on a rather thin branch until the blast of light both woke him up and sent him hurtling out of the tree to land unceremoniously on the ground below.
Kaegen picked himself up off the ground slowly, peering out to try and discover what exactly had startled him out of his tree. It took him a solid minute to detect the movement, to see the vague outline that told him there was another student there in front of him. He didn't want to be talking to anyone, he didn't really have a reason to be doing anything, much less socialize. Why was someone out here this late anyway?
Wait, it was late, he had missed curfew. Usually this would not have bothered him as much as it did, but whenever Kaegen broke a rule it was because he had a reason. What reasonable excuse did he have this time? That he fell asleep? He breathed deeply to calm himself down, but paused.
The wind was blowing towards him, from the girl. He could smell her pretty clearly, and she smelled familiar. It was not a pleasant smell. Or maybe it just had bad memories attached to it? He didn't know, and didn't really want to find out. He stood the rest of the way up, wind silently whipping about his scarf. Should he say something? Do something?
"People don't come out after dark unless they have business here."
Well, that was something anyway. More of a challenge than anything else, but he didn't know what else to do, and didn't really care all that much anyway.
Shade-Beacon, Master of the Castle of Avarice
18 May 2019, 04:16
Sticks & Stones
Oh. A voice. That certainly wasn't terrifying. She was out past curfew, she knew that, but for what reason? It was barely past curfew; she wouldn't have had time to get back to her Common Room anyway, and she would have had more chance to get caught by a prefect. It was just a method of not being detected. Maybe if she could get this boy to leave, she could fall asleep - but then again, he might be a prefect.
Koko turned to look behind her, only turning a small bit. She could now see him, and she didn't think that he could see her. Oh. That boy. The half-breed was pretty famous around the school. He was a Ravenclaw who went by the name of something like Kaden Deathmote. Or so Koko thought. She couldn't be entirely sure. Still, she'd seen him before. Heard that voice... Except that voice had been saying one word: Diffindo.
Not again. She wasn't too scared of him, but now there was so much more chance of getting caught. What if he recognised her and tried to fight her. Should she even say anything? For now, she wasn't really sure. She didn't even know of an answer to his question. She could hardly make out his features in the dim light, but she could tell that his skin was extremely pale. Was he healthy?
Probably not. Maybe he would want a hug? No. No, no, no. Koko was absolutely not going to risk that. "I wanted to hide," she said softly, so softly that only one with superb hearing could possibly pick up her exact words - and she was sure that this boy had superb hearing. If he could fight so well, then how could he not? Hearing was such an important sense...
Her hand was on her wand, and she could grab her knife if she needed it, but the Deathmote boy was still far enough away that she wasn't sure if it would be required or not. She couldn't do anything against a person with more experience than her, not really. Not unless she had help of some kind... Or a distracter...
What if he doesn't have harmful intentions? Well then screw the rest of it. Koko would then try to make peace with the distraught kid. Honestly, this castle could be terrifying, and she could kind of understand where he was coming from with his talk about monsters and such. Still, she refused to voice her fears aloud. After the fire at the Blossom Ball, she was unsure if the teachers were even looking out for the kids... Perhaps they would all have to fend for their own.
[pc] koko riddle · 'pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.'
'it always starts and ends with birds.' · cyrus darsel [inpc]
20 May 2019, 05:33
Sticks & Stones
Lying, she was lying. She had to be lying. She had fired a flare, a signal flare, a signal for help, or just a bright light. Even if she had just used it to see, there was no way that it was meant to conceal her. It was obvious she had meant someone to see her, if it was him, well, he didn't know. But he didn't discount the possibility it was a trap, a trick. It usually was, after all. You could never trust people, especially people out late at night with wands and spells.
"You're lying."
He didn't like the way she smelled, he didn't like the way she talked. He didn't like her in general and had no reservations about making that fact known. Where on earth did he know her from, why did he have the distinctive feeling that he did know her, anyway?
He shifted his stance lower, spreading out his arms and legs to make him both wider and shorter, distorting his outline in the darkness. His eyes narrowed to slits, and then closed. He had heard the girl, but he had also just assumed she had spoken loud enough for him to hear on purpose. The idea that anyone else didn't have hearing as good as his own was a foreign concept for the boy. As far as he was aware, everyone was on his level or above it.
Something was about to happen, he could feel it. He was scared of it. No, not scared. He hated it. Despised it. Loathed the feeling of imminent something. Wanted to stab it over and over again, wanted to shred into the feeling with his claws and rip with his fangs until there was nothing left. It made him agitated, jumpy. And the fact that the girl must be lying didn't help.
"You're lying."
He didn't like the way she smelled, he didn't like the way she talked. He didn't like her in general and had no reservations about making that fact known. Where on earth did he know her from, why did he have the distinctive feeling that he did know her, anyway?
He shifted his stance lower, spreading out his arms and legs to make him both wider and shorter, distorting his outline in the darkness. His eyes narrowed to slits, and then closed. He had heard the girl, but he had also just assumed she had spoken loud enough for him to hear on purpose. The idea that anyone else didn't have hearing as good as his own was a foreign concept for the boy. As far as he was aware, everyone was on his level or above it.
Something was about to happen, he could feel it. He was scared of it. No, not scared. He hated it. Despised it. Loathed the feeling of imminent something. Wanted to stab it over and over again, wanted to shred into the feeling with his claws and rip with his fangs until there was nothing left. It made him agitated, jumpy. And the fact that the girl must be lying didn't help.
Shade-Beacon, Master of the Castle of Avarice
21 May 2019, 14:22
Sticks & Stones
"You're lying."
Oh, so that was how he saw it. He saw a tiny bit of the truth as a lie. She would have to be careful about what she said. "Let me rephrase that. My first intention was to hide. I casted the spell in order to see, and now that it is past curfew, hiding hardly has any purpose." Koko would try to speak in a language he could understand. She looked over at him; he had become both shorter and wider. So he was trying to confuse her.
Koko took a tiny step away from him. Create distance, just in case. He won't be a threat to you if you create distance. You can talk like a normal person, but he will be no threat. She didn't back away any more, though, because she did not want to appear scared. Koko had a hand on her wand, she could hex him if she had to... But she didn't even know too many spells. It would be cool if she could light the place on fire, but she would obviously get caught. Getting caught was the entire reason she was out here.
She kept her weight on the balls of her feet, ready to fight if she had to. She wouldn't throw a punch; instead of hitting muscle she would hit sharp bone. She wouldn't hurt him unless he tried to hurt her - and she was unsure if she could even hurt him. An experienced fighter...
She forced the thoughts out of her head, still keeping her stance. Only staying defensive. That was all she would do. "I don't usually lie." She said it quietly, as she had done before, since the Deathmote boy had proven that he could hear her tone if she spoke that softly. Perhaps he could prove that he could be peaceful... She could only wait and see.
[pc] koko riddle · 'pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.'
'it always starts and ends with birds.' · cyrus darsel [inpc]
22 May 2019, 06:56
Sticks & Stones
Now that it was past curfew, hiding didn't have a purpose? Why, why didn't hiding server a purpose after curfew? Were there hounds? Beasts who could sniff you out so fast that there was no escape? After curfew was when you had to hide the most, wasn't it? Why did nothing make sense, why did things constantly come and stand in his way? The mists, the unknown, had always been in his favor, they had always hidden him, protected him. But now the unknown was throwing everything it had at the little boy and he was wearing out.
She had been meaning to hide. She then cast the spell in order to see and now that it was past curfew, hiding was purposeless? But if you were somewhere you weren't supposed to be, then that was when you had to hide. What was she talking about. Why. Why did it not make any sense. His mind felt like it was smashing a brick wall made from the very unknown that had once been his sole companion and he hated it.
When the girl claimed that she usually didn't lie, he wanted to scream. Usually didn't? That meant she did lie, that meant she couldn't be trusted and she knew it and she was so confident she didn't even try and hide it. Who did that? Who was that cocky, that sure of their pathetic, worthless little speck of power.
His little fists clenched, as his muscles tensed. Something was wrong, and nothing made sense. Should he attack? Or wait for her to make the first move
She had been meaning to hide. She then cast the spell in order to see and now that it was past curfew, hiding was purposeless? But if you were somewhere you weren't supposed to be, then that was when you had to hide. What was she talking about. Why. Why did it not make any sense. His mind felt like it was smashing a brick wall made from the very unknown that had once been his sole companion and he hated it.
When the girl claimed that she usually didn't lie, he wanted to scream. Usually didn't? That meant she did lie, that meant she couldn't be trusted and she knew it and she was so confident she didn't even try and hide it. Who did that? Who was that cocky, that sure of their pathetic, worthless little speck of power.
His little fists clenched, as his muscles tensed. Something was wrong, and nothing made sense. Should he attack? Or wait for her to make the first move
Shade-Beacon, Master of the Castle of Avarice
24 May 2019, 02:41
Sticks & Stones
Hm. He hadn't responded. She would't move. Someone like him would probably attack her if she moved. She didn't want to be attacked. Nor did she honestly wish to attack him. So she would stay still, cease bouncing lightly on her feet, and watch carefully.
She didn't trust him. He probably didn't trust her. So what could she possibly do to have him trust her? She wasn't sure. But what this twelve-year-old did know was that Deathmote wouldn't attack her if he trusted her. So she had to make him trust her. But how??
"I won't hurt you," said Koko, her voice not as soft, but still not loud, as to not scare him. Not that it would work. It might, but it might not. People were so unpredictable.
Unpredictability was one that that scared Koko. It meant she never knew what was coming, which would throw her off a little. She would then be unsure of what was to come next, or how something might go - and this little snake was a planner, definitely a planner. She hated for things to go against her plan. Her plan was usually well thought out, and she would hate to see anything in it go wrong. So that was why she was terrified of unpredictability.
She was scared of two other things: Slytherin prefect Luna Choi, and abandonment. Koko didn't want to be abandoned, ever. She also didn't want to be left in a room alone with only her and the icy cold prefect in it. She wasn't sure why she was scared of that, but she was.
And as she looked out into the darkness, sensing a small figure, she realised that perhaps Deathmote was scared. "I would never want to hurt you," Koko added, as kindly as she could. "Really." She may have hurt the kid before, but that was only self defense and retaliation. If he didn't hurt her, she wouldn't hurt him. Not that she could even hurt him that badly, but she had been working on defensive tactics, and truth be told, she had learned a lot from this kid. He was making her keep her guard up. She was starting to become paranoid - what if there were more people out to hurt her? And it didn't help that a prefect from her own house had been in a bad mood recently and looked as if she would deal out detention like a deck of cards.
Koko didn't want to be caught in that, but she would be if she had to. First, though, she wanted to try to gain the trust of Deathmote... If she could, at least. "W-what's your name, by the way?"
[pc] koko riddle · 'pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.'
'it always starts and ends with birds.' · cyrus darsel [inpc]
9 Jun 2019, 05:29
Sticks & Stones
It had to be lies. She was being marginally nice now, but he knew, he knew she was evil. She had admitted to being a liar, to having no name. So now what was he supposed to do? Just believe her, even though he knew that the words coming out of her mouth were entirely fake, false, fabricated? No, there was no way. He was not just going to roll over and accept that she didn't want to hurt him. She clearly did want to hurt him, why else would she be here?
Everyone wanted to hurt him in one way or another, and those that didn't just happened to do it on accident. There was no middle ground, no safe zone where he could comfortably hide while he waited for the unending battle of death witches versus humans to end. He would stand, survive, fight and win, and there was nothing that the pathetic little whatever it was in front of him was going to stop that.
"I don't believe you. Stop lying, just run or fight."
He would win, he would have to win. But how would he go about doing it? As his mind pondered the possibilities, it landed on a pretty good stratagem. Yes. He would kill her in the first 3 minutes.
Everyone wanted to hurt him in one way or another, and those that didn't just happened to do it on accident. There was no middle ground, no safe zone where he could comfortably hide while he waited for the unending battle of death witches versus humans to end. He would stand, survive, fight and win, and there was nothing that the pathetic little whatever it was in front of him was going to stop that.
"I don't believe you. Stop lying, just run or fight."
He would win, he would have to win. But how would he go about doing it? As his mind pondered the possibilities, it landed on a pretty good stratagem. Yes. He would kill her in the first 3 minutes.
Shade-Beacon, Master of the Castle of Avarice
18 Jun 2019, 22:33
Sticks & Stones
Koko shifted on her feet awkwardly. Of course that wouldn't work. Who would trust a Slytherin? No one, obviously. Not even this sickly-looking Ravenclaw. He looked as if he needed a hug.
"Just run or fight? What's the fun in fighting? I would understand running; that is so much easier than fighting. Fighting just wastes energy. I would rather think." Koko didn't back away. She was close enough that if he tried to attack her, she could just try and... maybe trip him? Besides... When had she lied? Well... Maybe she might want to hurt him if he hurt her sister... But she hadn't really lied. She wouldn't fight. She might defend herself, but she wouldn't attack. "And right now, why would I want to run? I came out here because of the nice weather, mostly. And I don't want to run away from it. W-why do you even have a problem with me? I shouldn't be forced to run, or fight, or whatever!" Oh no. Those weren't tears. That was her allergies. Koko faked a perfect sneeze, sneezing into her sleeve. Still, she didn't give a damn if he thought her a crybaby; she would just suck it up if he called her one. But this kid didn't seem like the type to call names...
Koko blinked back her tears allergies, the moonlight reflecting slightly off of her golden eyes. If she were forced to either run or fight, she would have no clue which to do. The twelve-year-old prefered to think. Thinking was so much easier. It was just... serene. Helpful. And no one usually got hurt. In fact, Koko couldn't recall a time when anyone had been hurt by her thoughts. After all, they stayed in her head, right?
God, he looked so helpless right now. So confused. And a little scared. And in need of a hug. So... Koko wasn't usually rude or anything, so why not ask. "W-what's wrong?" she stammered. "D-do you w-wa... want a hug?"
[pc] koko riddle · 'pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.'
'it always starts and ends with birds.' · cyrus darsel [inpc]
1 Jul 2019, 08:45
Sticks & Stones
What was the fun in fighting? There wasn't any fun, it was fighting. Who thought that there was supposed to be fun in things, anyway? There was fun in playing, this wasn't playing. There was fun in being with friends, fun in being safe. He had none of those luxuries, and he had no interest in getting any of them, not for a while. He had to focus on surviving for now, focus on making it to the next morning. He couldn't do that if he had to focus on this girl killing him, it was just easier to kill someone, to beat them so completely that they couldn't ever challenge you, or anything else, again.
"Fighting ends something. It ends a story, removes a danger. It's not a waste."
He didn't know what to do, she wasn't making a move, and Kaegen was pretty sure that his opponent would be very much ready if he made the lunge all the way across the field. It would suck, he would be at a horrible disadvantage. He just plain wasn't interested. He heard her sneeze, and thought nothing of it. It was probably just some poorly concealed signal to someone else. He would be ready for them if they started to come for him, he was on edge, and prepared.
She asked if something was wrong, then. Asked if he needed a hug. A hug? He liked hugs. Hugs felt safe, and nice. But not hugs from some girl who had tried to kill him before, not from an enemy. Of course not from an enemy.
"Is that the best you can do? I'm smarter than you are, you won't be able to trick me that easily."
He wasn't so sure of himself, not really. The girl didn't look scary, she didn't look much of a threat. But she had to be one, right? He started to back away, towards the castle, moving slowly.
"Fighting ends something. It ends a story, removes a danger. It's not a waste."
He didn't know what to do, she wasn't making a move, and Kaegen was pretty sure that his opponent would be very much ready if he made the lunge all the way across the field. It would suck, he would be at a horrible disadvantage. He just plain wasn't interested. He heard her sneeze, and thought nothing of it. It was probably just some poorly concealed signal to someone else. He would be ready for them if they started to come for him, he was on edge, and prepared.
She asked if something was wrong, then. Asked if he needed a hug. A hug? He liked hugs. Hugs felt safe, and nice. But not hugs from some girl who had tried to kill him before, not from an enemy. Of course not from an enemy.
"Is that the best you can do? I'm smarter than you are, you won't be able to trick me that easily."
He wasn't so sure of himself, not really. The girl didn't look scary, she didn't look much of a threat. But she had to be one, right? He started to back away, towards the castle, moving slowly.
Shade-Beacon, Master of the Castle of Avarice