Stage 38: Running Man

Interacting with : Reducio open for interactions!

Date: Reducio March 22nd

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Outfit: Reducio Slytherin Uniform + sandals

Despite enjoying running, Kaitlyn had never run for her life before from something so … strange and terrifying. What happened to Professor Baird? Did she do something wrong? Did this have anything to do with her gift? Her blue eyes glanced at the Twinkle doll cuddled safely in her hands. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea for her to take it back? It was very hard for her to imagine whether or not that would be the case. Regardless, she was feeling a little freaked out.

Looking around the classroom, Kaitlyn noticed she was the only one there. Could she have been the only student lucky enough to receive the doll? She honestly hadn’t a clue. She collapsed onto one of the desks, playing with the hem of her skirt. Her wand was safely tucked behind her ear. The soles of her sandals gently grazed the ground as she tried her best to catch her breath. Whatever was going on, she’d need her wits about her … and to be in top shape. That meant she needed to rest a little. Maybe another student would show up in the meantime, and maybe have an idea of what could be going on? She could only hope, of course!

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 207 words

Kai had run full speed down the halls. Her braid whipped out behind her. She had pulled her wand out of her waist band, casting glances every now and then over her shoulder. She had never run like this before. She was fast, sure, and usually she quite enjoyed running, it helped clear her mind, but her mind was buzzing with panic at the situation. There was no doubt in her mind anymore: Those dolls had to be full of Dark Magic.

She had run into the first empty classroom she had seen, her knuckles white as she gripped her wand tighter. She was breathing hard, and she settled herself weakly onto a desktop, trying to catch her breath. She was barefoot, having stripped off her socks when she was running. Suddenly, Kai noticed the other girl in the classroom. The girl was in a Slytherin uniform. Kai wondered why the girl had bothered putting on her uniform late at night. She glanced down at her own black leggings and T-shirt and wondered if she should have put on her uniform. She looked back at the Slytherin, wondering if the other girl was running for the same reason.

She slid. She should've grabbed shoes, too. Astra's socked feet made little noise but left her flailing as she ran at full tilt but only half speed. Her knuckles were like to burst through the skin of her hand she held her wand so tightly. Her free hand latched onto the rough stone of the corridor as she careened around a corner, leaving skin and blood as her palm caught. Just a scratch, just a scratch, no time-

Astra didn't dare look back. What to do, what to do? She could run up to the owlery, as far away from the doll as she could be. Dangerous this late at night. A perfect could be out, they tended to show at the worst times. Then again, if it's Koko- No, prefects aside, too easy to get trapped. She could run outside? Outside was far, and outside was not where help would be.

Too damn bad @Piérre Marchonné was a Gryffindor. She'd even take Roderick at a time like this, to show her a mission, to give her an objective other than run. Too many possibilities, too many opportunities to fail. A web of trial and error when error was inexcusable.

An unused classroom, a perfect hiding place. With all the grace of a concussed sheep, Astra tumbled in. Her socks muffled her footfalls, and her breathing though audible was forced quiet. Especially as Astra clocked other presences in the room.

A fellow Slytherin, and a younger girl. "Cheers," she exhaled lifting a hand in greeting and peeking out the door into the hall before turning back to the girls. Midnight eyes widened as she saw the doll, identical to her own, in the other Slytherin's hands. "You still have yours?" Her voice was hushed. She stepped closer, footfall silent. "I don't know if you've seen our common room, but all the other people who still have theirs are..." How could she describe what she'd seen, felt, experienced? "... weird. So be careful. If you start feeling, uh, strange we can probably burn it. Or something."

@Kaitlyn Connor (main interaction), @Kai Draxon

Interacting with : Reducio @Kai Draxon, @Astra Norrick

Date: Reducio March 22nd

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Outfit: Reducio Slytherin Uniform + sandals

Hearing footsteps approaching, Kaitlyn looked up, gently cuddling the doll in her arms. She was still quite spooked at seeing Professor Baird … It looked like the vision of a nightmare! The girl appeared to have her wand out. She tilted her head to the side, curious about why the girl was there. Had they had the same experience with the doll … Twinkle.

“Hi,” Kaitlyn greeted her shyly. “Did you also get one of these?” She asked, holding up the doll she was previously cuddling. Whatever was going on with the doll, it was undoubtedly freaky.

However, no other thoughts came to Kailtyn’s mind as another girl entered the classroom. This girl was a fellow Slytherin if her mind was working correctly… which could be debatable at this point! “Hi,” she shyly squeaked in response. It appeared like this girl was … was she running? That seemed concerning.

Kaitlyn immediately shook her head at the proposed question. “I have not seen the others from our Common Room … I tried bringing my doll to Professor Baird … he wanted to keep it. I took it back, and … ugh, some weirdness happened there. I had to run away,” she shook her head. It freaked her out enough. Thankfully, she had her wand with her, which would likely help in whatever was to come.

Her sad eyes looked at Twinkle, as she nodded her head. “Ok, thank you. It sounds like your experience was … pretty scary,” Kaitlyn continued, her voice in hushed whispers.

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 254 words

Kai stared at the two Slytherins. It seems like their common room had turned into a bit of a cult as well... she mused. She kept her wand clutched tightly in her hand as she stared at the doll in the first girls hands. She muttered a curse under her breath.

"Looks like we're all here for the same reason." Her voice was hoarse. Her mind flashed back to the scene from her own Common Room. Glancing at Astra, she said, "I had a similar experience in the Gryffindor Common Room."

She twisted her wand nervously between her fingers before resting her hands behind her on the desk. Her pale face was shadowed with a mixture of bitterness, fear, and confusion. Something's not right here. She looked back at the doll. These dolls definitely have to be Dark Magic. The question is, who enchanted them? And why?

Kai bit her lip, lost in thought, her feet tapping on the chair, her hands moving from being pressed on the desk behind her to being clenched in front of her, forearms resting on her knees. Her endless, deep green eyes roamed over the two Slytherins. They're both older then me, but not by much, probably second years if I had to guess. Judging from their reactions, nothing has ever happened like this before.

Her eyes narrowed. What even is the purpose of this? She shook her head, getting overwhelmed, staring intently at her hands, her wand still clenched in one of them.

XXXEonaria arrived panting in the classroom, shutting the door behind her. To her surprise and abject horror, there were other people inside. She froze before recognizing a few of them. She had seen them around, in the hallways and whatnot. They weren't creepy cultists with dolls, right?

XXX"Uh... hi," Eonaria squeaked. "Are you guys... hiding, too? Did you also get a doll that vanished weirdly?" It was feeling like a weirdly apocalyptic scene. Were they all going to die at the hands of doll cultists? Hogwarts had seemed safe enough the first few months, but if crazy things like this really do happen each year.... yikes. Ah, it's not just Gryffindor. That's good to know. I mean, not good, I don't want the other houses to be terrorized, too... but at least we're not alone? There was another Gryffindor girl, but also two Slytherins. "Who are you all?"

One of them, the Gryffindor, held her wand clutched in her hands, which was an understandable reaction. Eonaria reached for her own, relaxing when she felt it. Good, I didn't drop it along the way. But one of the Slytherins was cradling a third doll variant. Eonaria's blood turned cold. "What the- why do you have that?!" She yelped. "Yours didn't vanish? Or, you found it again...?" She tilted her head.

Kai glanced at the other Gryffindor. She couldn't remember the girl's name for the life of her, but she knew that she was another first year. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Hey, did you see the others? Are they still...creepy?" Kai asked gruffly.

Her dark, endless green eyes were filled with agitation. Without realizing it, her feet had begun tapping a steady rhythm on the hair again, her wand spinning aimlessly in her hands. Her eyes kept flashing back to the Slytherin girl with the doll.

Why in the name of Merlin does she still have that thing...does she not realize they're dangerous? Kai frowned, unknowingly glaring at the Slytherin with a burning look of aggressive apprehension. Bloody hell...it's making me anxious...

She looked away very suddenly as she realized she might be making the other girl uncomfortable. Kai looked once again at the other Gryffindor. "When I was in the Common Room it was like a cult. Is it still like that?" she asked her, her voice hoarse and a little deeper than usual with agitation, tiredness, and soreness from screaming. She was finding it much easier to talk to people without being rude, most likely from how scared she was.

Astra caught her breath. "Yeah, I did, but the little bugger's disappeared on me," she said in response to the other Slytherin @Kaitlyn Connor's first statement. Which may not be a bad thing.

Professor Who? "Who is that?" The confusion in her voice was obvious to anyone with ears. The man was not familiar to her, though he should be. "Glad you got away safe. But, ah, if you can remember specifics, could help to figure this mess out."

The younger girl @Kai Draxon, a Gryffindor based on her words, spoke up. Astra felt her stomach drop. Oh no. That could mean @Raizel Voltrouz or Pi or Rick could be in danger, under this strange and likely malicious spell... "I wonder, then, if all the houses are experiencing this," she missed aloud quietly, beginning to pace.

The arrival of a fourth girl @Eonaria Kabukimono caused her to pause in the quick strides across the room. "Hullo. Your doll's gone, too?" She spun her wand as she listened. "Appears we're all in similar predicaments. We're all second years at best, I know you and I are-" in reference to Kaitlyn- "and at worst you two are still first years. Our resources are limited either way. And obviously we can't stay here in this classroom forever.' They needed a plan of action, and they needed more facts.

edited out mentions of knowing Prof Baird

Interacting with : Reducio @Kai Draxon, @Astra Norrick, @Eonaria Kabukimono

Date: Reducio March 22nd

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Outfit: Reducio Slytherin Uniform + sandals

Kaitlyn nodded at Kai’s comment. It did appear they were all there for the same reason … but that sadly didn’t make her feel any better. Just how many of these dolls were given to students? Was there going to be a mad dash of students running around the castle? That would certainly be weird. “Ugh, that is not a good sign,” she muttered in acknowledgement.

Then, another younger girl came into the classroom. Kaitlyn blinked in surprise at Eonaria’s words. A doll that vanished … hiding. Did they have different experiences, after all? It was so weird. “Vanished?” She squeaked in surprise. It felt so strange. Eonaria asked who they were. “I … oh. I’m Kaitlyn Connor,” she said in an introduction. She had no idea what good use it was for introductions during such weird times, but who was she to question it?

Gripping her doll closer to her chest, Kaitlyn yelped in surprise. “No, no. Mine didn’t vanish. Professor Baird wanted to take it … but I insisted on keeping it,” she replied, surprised by the reaction. A light flush bloomed on her cheeks as she noticed Kai staring at her coldly. She fidgeted nervously on the spot. While she understood these were freaky times, she didn’t understand the need for such coldness.

To try to relieve the tension she was feeling, Kaitlyn looked back at Astra. She nodded at her words. It sounded less surprising now, the third time. “I wonder where yours went …” She trailed off, feeling her blood turn cold. She nodded at the comment about Professor Baird. “Yes, in the Hospital Wing,” she replied. Her first thoughts about that still showed respect for him, but she could acknowledge that not everyone felt the same way.

Kaitlyn furrowed her brow, trying to recall what happened. “After I found this doll on my bed, I went to tell any teacher I could find. Professor Baird was the first adult I found to tell. He thought it was just a regular doll, but the air in the Hospital Wing grew cold … Right when I took the doll back … well, Professor Baird’s mouth moved, but he couldn’t talk … There was a thread hanging between his lips. That’s when I ran out of there to here … I’m sorry if that’s not much to go by. What about you?” She asked.

She nodded at Astra’s words to their small group. “I agree. I doubt we have the power to do much about this alone … and I’d imagine running away again won’t help much …”

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 254 words