The Masquerade Ball Event Closed

Double Post

As Teiki Laurent | @Katrina Walker(Iris) | @Thora Larkston(Karilyna) | @Bridget Collins(Phyllis)

The door to the ballroom closed. With no warning or indication of any reason for why, the small group they had here could no longer go inside. It was probably safer out here, then. She glanced back at Iris, nodding when Karilyna and Astrid thought that the group should take Iris to the medical area.

But she also noticed Karilyna's face as it grew pale. Something must've unsettled her, but Teiki couldn't figure out if it was Iris unconscious or the chaos that was within the ball. Well, Teiki had a few ideas as to how the pale girl could get away from either.

"So, I have no idea where any of the professors are, and I assume you Ilvermorny students would have a hard time finding them as well. That being said, the medical area is just one floor down, so one of us should be able to take Iris there to get better. In addition, I'm concerned about everything that's happening inside the ballroom. So some of us should probably stay here just to make sure." Teiki nodded, before going over to Iris.

"Hey, I need you to wake up for a bit. We just need to get you down to the hospital wing, and then you'll be okay." Teiki kneeled in front of the unconscious girl, shaking her slightly to try and wake her up. She looked back at the group, quickly.

"If any of you would like to help me, that would be appreciated, but I'll be able to manage this on my own if you would like to stay together."

Astrid Kovac, dNPC | @Thora Larkston(Karilyna) | @Bridget Collins(Phyllis) | @Katrina Walker(Iris)

Astrid had started to get herself together. After all, her calm sarcastic self had come back. When the ballroom door closed, her curious nature set in, wondering what would be happening behind that door. Nothing good, she presumed, knowing already how many small fights had happened. But the doors hadn't been closed for that. So she assumed it was now a larger scenario.

The conversations between the Hogwarts and Ilvermorny students brought her back, and she realized that Iris still didn't seem any better. She winced, wondering what Iris was going through. Or what the poor Third year would wake up to. She nodded along when others started voicing their concern and suggesting the medical wing would be a good place to bring the unconscious girl.

Unlike the rest of the group, Astrid didn't notice Karilyna when she grew paler. Instead, she listened to Teiki ramble about some ideas they could do. Astrid quickly made her decision about where she would rather be.

"I think I'll stay here, if that's okay with y'all. I'm 'summing that somethin will prob-bly come out the doors if somethin serious is go-in on." Her quick talking allowing for a little bit more of her accent to bleed through the words, but she walked over to the side of a door, hoping she might be able to use the door as a sort of protection and way to have a better chance at stopping someone from leaving. Maybe she was getting overprepared, but her imagination had decided that something horrible was going to jump out from behind those doors.

She just hoped the rest of the students were okay, as well.

You never really thought about how nasty some of these kids at Hogwarts could get. There were children, getting medieval on these Half-Giants- like, they were attacking the tall men with burning bits of wood. This was proof that everyone was crazy. Once those primal instincts kicked in, sanity and insanity no longer mattered. Everyone wanted to live another day. They were animals- and like Xailah had to explain to Aurelia; animals were going to fight when threatened. The biggest mistake that these giants made though, was blocking off the door. The inability to flee the scene, had set some students into a frenzy.

Both Xailah and her cat Schrödinger, had scaled this man, as if he were a tree. No matter how many times he would push, or punch; she would be on him again almost immediately. She had moved to his shoulders, and attempted to slip one of the hanging straps on her shirt, over his neck. Her free hand would claw at his face, in an attempt to rip that cheap mask that he was wearing, off. Another girl had cast a fumos, and began throwing punches at the Half giant. "Yeah! We need to keep this guy away from the doors till-" Her fiery yellow eyes fell on a frail red head. There was a familiar shine in the childs aqua eyes.

The familiar glint of hunger. She wasn't too sure what the kid was, but she had some sort of idea. "-Till they can get the door open. And when they do, that door needs to ssstay open." Xailah said, shouting over the screaming, and the hissing of the dying fires. And with that, she moved her hand to the top of the Half-Giants head. She needed him to bleed.

Interactions: @Bridget Collins; Giant Situation
Mentions: @Griseldis Edelhardt; @Santario Martin; @Kyle DeRook; @Quinn Healy

Thora paused in her steps as Bridget's eyes darted around, noticing something. Her friend was obviously more observant than she, as although the snek knew that the whole atmosphere wasn't right, she couldn't place her finger on a single thing happening here. One minute the fight ensued, a half giant thrashing around on the ground, and the next, it was over. As if someone had pressed the stop button, the fight stopped immediately, a small figure getting up rather slowly, clutching her hand. Was that Santario? Thora didn't know the first year, but them being on the Quidditch team together did ensure that she recognized the girl's black hair. Hopefully she was okay. Thora forced herself to turn and follow Bridget's point of view as Santario walked out of the room with another taller figure.

"Um, are you o--" Thora didn't even finish her sentence until she realized liquid flying through the air. Something settled in her gut, telling her that something was seriously wrong here. But what? Flames erupted on the floor. Great. What had even happened? Thora berated herself inwardly--how could she have not seen a single thing? Being unobservant and careless were two things uncharacteristic of the young girl, and she hated it. But she had no time to think.

Several cries of Extinguo brought Thora back to the situation at hand. Three girls--one of them Bridget, just next to her--had drawn their wands and were casting the extinguishing spell. Great, great, great. Fire. Just what they needed. Honestly, the entire ballroom would probably be destroyed at this rate. But more importantly was the boy. A Gryffindor boy, quite tall, with black hair, was literally on fire. She hated to ignore him, but there were probably more serious things on hand. Hopefully, the three girls had it covered. If they all missed, Thora would never forgive herself.

Quick-thinking, come on, think... Thora thought, as she spun around. Where was the tall-ish creepy figure that had caused the fire and thrown the drink? There. Thora's eyes narrowed as she spotted the tall figure she's figured out that it's not a professor, but doesn't know that it's a half-giant. But then she heard a voice cry out, saying that spells wouldn't hurt them. Hopefully she wasn't as gullible as she thought and was believing a professor, not another enemy's voice. "Extinguo!" Thora cried, trying to help put out the poor boy. This had to stop, and she couldn't stand seeing someone on fire.

Thora herself hadn't been lit on fire--thank Merlin--before, but she had witnessed it more than once. In her short duel, she had watched as people were set on fire. It didn't look pretty at all. As she prayed that her spell hit, the Slytherin breathed hard. This was the time to figure out what was going on. "Bridget, what just happened?" And all she could do was hope that she didn't miss and the three girls put out the fire. Three people had to be enough, right?

Actions || Cast Extinguo on Jürgen Hess and entire fire mess

Interacting with @Max Avery | Mentions @Dymphna Teague

xxxThings went from 0 to 100 so quickly it almost gave her whiplash. In what could have been comical had it not been for the impeding danger, the band members came to a sudden halt. The party-goers began shouting and in the most populous areas several riots broke out. She didn't think much of the fearful step she took to hide half-way behind Max, much more concerned with the flash of green and silver that had turned away from their little get-together.

"Dymphna!" Phaedra called out, a clear protest of her friend's decision to leave her side amidst such chaos. Although the music had silenced, the blonde obviously couldn't hear her over the screaming and shattered tables and glass, especially since she was already halfway across the room trying to approach a very tall person that was wrecking havoc on another. Phaedra couldn't think to herself how stupid she found that, because next, her best friend's voice snapped her out of her momentary stupor.

Phaedra nodded and took a knee behind the table he flipped over. "Okay, okay." Her chest felt tight as the memories of her first year came flooding back. She liked to think that she had grown since Ben's assault in her first year, but she wasn't so sure in the moment. Her hands trembled as they reached down for the wand snugly strapped to her lower leg. The fabric of her dress, coupled with her panicking, made her fumble for longer than she would've liked, but after finding her bearings, Phaedra poked her head over the table's edge. Locking her eyes on the growing inferno, she whipped her wand as gracefully as she could muster towards the floor just as he had. "Extinguo!"

As clever of an idea the table was, Phaedra did not want to stay fortified there because it did not provide adequate protection from the sides, top, or rear. If the fire were only to grow, the best thing to do would be to leave the ballroom altogether. Thing was, it was locked, judging by the crowd of students beating at the doors to open. Phaedra yanked off her gold mask and tossed it aside. It would be easier to fight without it obstructing her peripherals.

Cast Extinguo at the fire spreading.

LAMIK'S PERSPECTIVE
-------------------------------
Interacts with: @Jake Morris @Aideen Ryan
Mentions: @Saskia Nicholson

A choice. Lamik had to make a choice. Usually, the boy liked choosing- he liked having options- even if it was slightly stressful at times. This wasnt what homework he should prioritize or wether or not he should go to a friends birthday party though. No, this was different. The fire had started so suddenly, and though he couldnt tell who, it did seem like it was started by someone. Lamik would never say that he was especially brave, and he knew that he wasnt strong. He did care about people though, and above all others, he cared about his friends.

The boy had to choose, and he had to choose quick. His first thought was about saving helping Saskia, but as he looked around the room he noticed her doing her best to help. She seemed fine. Though he still wanted to run to her, he knew that he should help Aideen. She was having some kind of panic attack and probably couldnt fend for herself. Thats when he heard the scream though- Jake. His head twisting around to find the young boy, he screamed as loud as he could. "JAKE! OVER HERE! NOW!" After yelling at the boy, Lamik tried dragging Aideen further away from the fire.

___________________________

NOVUS'S PERSPECTIVE
-----------------------------
Interacts with: @Astrea Soleil Neptune

Before Novus could respond to the girl in the luxurious clothes, the fires started. They spread suprisingly quickly, and the boy had no idea where they had began from. If he had to guess, they were started by some spell gone wrong in whatever fight had been occuring earlier. What was strange was that it spread. How had the professors let it spread so far? Novus thought before looking around and realizing that nearly all of the professors had vanished. Looking back at the girl, Novus tried for a weak smile. "My name is Novus. There seems to be a fire going on. We either run or help put it out. Your choice.

Mentions: @Andrew Vance , that half giant (@Solomon Lear) attacking @Jorah Moussa , Jorah Moussa, @Maya Galim and @Jake Morris and @Lamik Fillestar

Permission has been given to play as Andrew Vance since they are currently unavailable due to family emergency. PM in Discord:

Andrew Vance Yesterday at 8:50 PM I have a family emergency. [cutting out what the emergency is, as it's not my place to share] Would like to get a post out for the Ball but I...just can't right now.      I give you permission to god-mod Andrew in your posts, if necessary.  I trust your judgement.

Heather Ruby shook the pumpkin kid, trying to snap him out of the deadly fear paralysis. "GET UP! WE NEED TO MOVE!" She had to yell to be heard over the chaos. There were cries of spells being cast, mostly at the fire. Good, that would help contain the blaze even if they couldn't put it out. Heather heard a window smash as well, that was even better, it would vent the smoke, although she doubted they could escape that way because it was on the 4th floor. Someone was yelling for more people to fight the fire, and that magic wouldn't work on the giants.

That was a problem. Not for her specifically, since she had problems with even the simplest of spells, but it was a huge problem for those who were fighting with magic.

"HEATHER?! HEATHER?!"

She recognized Andrew's voice, called back to him, and he was soon at her side. She felt him pull at her to get away from the fire, and she, in turn, dragged the terrified pumpkin boy. With both of them tugging, they were able to move him a little, curled up as he was.

"You didn't happen to find my glasses, did you?" she asked Andrew.

"No, but we've got bigger problems!" he said, gripping her arm, "Come on!"

She resisted, "There's no getting out with those giants blocking the door, I can tell that much is going on from all the yelling."

He sounded exasperated, "So what do we do?!"

"I've got an idea, but it's really stupid," she said.

He sounded worried now, "How stupid are we talking about?"

She actually grinned at him, knowing this was probably a REALLY bad idea but not seeing many other choices. "We're turning my cane into a spear and stabbing that giant with it."

There was stunned silence for several moments, and she was sure he was staring at her with his mouth open, though she couldn't see his face even right in front of her without her eyeglasses.

"I'm sorry, WHAT?!"

She heard another boy yelling nearby for someone called Jake. Hopefully, that was this pumpkin kid, because he wasn't budging on his own.

The growing ruckus barely registered in George's head until he turned and saw the giants, yelling at each other and dragging away some poor student that was kicking and struggling. What? Was this part of the ball? It was supposed to be a little scary for Halloween, but things looked to be getting out of hand. Then, the room lit up with fire, consuming the robes of another student and the main dance floor. The glow of the flames warmed his bare calves, the boy jumping back in fear before his kilt could catch on fire.

"Nobody panic!" George shrieked, breaking into a sprint away from the spread of the flames. What was that extinguishing spell? Oh, god, he couldn't remember. He couldn't remember incantations at a time like this - none of them aside from stop, drop, and roll. Or a favorite incantation of Muggles - 999 - though that one wouldn't work here. He looked around and heard some others yelling 'extinguo' - that was it, the extinguishing spell. The older kids would have that under control.

He patted himself down from the chest down to the hem of his kilt, making sure he had no fire on him. It was then that he realized he'd forgotten something very important. In fact, two very important things. Both dressed in pumpkin costumes. His friend @Mari Haynes was still freaking out at the edge of the flames, dangerously close to joining them. And just when he thought things were getting bad, he heard the familiar shriek of @Jake Morris near the wall of the room. The pair of pumpkins were going out of their gourds. Someone had to keep their head for their fellow Hufflepuffs!

His dress shoes squeaked on the ballroom floor, leaving black scuff marks in his wake as he made a mad dash for Mari. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back with him - away from the flame, huddled near the rest of the cowering students who had dodged the fire. He could feel more of his blood soaking into his shirt from his shoulder, the tiny bite wound surprisingly painful for the magnitude of it. It stung like the girl was venomous, making it difficult to properly escort her, but he grimaced and swallowed the pain.

"Stay here, I've got to go get my friend!" he called as he staggered back into the fray to find the source of the other pumpkin's screams.

Thankfully, his costume made him easy to locate. George battered into a few other students as he rushed over, pulling the burlap sack off of his head and taking a deep breath of the warm air. It was very, very sweaty in there. @Heather Ruby was already here to the rescue, but George knew the boy better than she did - he was oversensitive, and would need a bit of encouragement to be brought back to reality. He swung his arm down, slapping Jake over the top of the head with the burlap to get his attention.

"Jake! Don't panic, everything's going to be alright. They're extinguishing it, but we have to move! Come on!" He reached out to grab the poor pumpkin's hand, trying to pull him to his feet. He jerked his head aside to look at Heather. "Don't worry, lady, I'll get him up!"

By force, if he has to! Even through all the panic, there was a moment of bitterness in George's head. He totally should have been a Gryffindor.

INTERACTIONS: @Jorah Moussa @Eris Fawley

Adam had been so ready for it this time. He'd had a plan, a good plan, in the case of disaster like this one. That plan had kept him going under all of the bright smiles and positive outlooks. Because as much as he could reassure himself and his friends that it was finally their year to have a good time, they'd all run this gauntlet before. In first year, it had meant little to him. Last year, he'd been too much of a coward to face the flames, letting Eris do it instead. This year, he was going to take down whatever threatened his night.

That was the plan, at least. In reality, he'd already failed. He'd been unable to work up the courage to face Kaegen and stop him from another rampage. He'd watched as his best friend had stepped into the spotlight again to save the day, and he'd slunk off in the shadows to find some kind of weak refuge on the dance floor. Oh yeah, Adam Harringtom was a real hero. He still had it in him, though, he could feel it. Obviously he didn't want anything else to go wrong, especially after Eris returned from the front -- but a part of him wanted another chance to prove himself. There were no trees for him to hide behind this time around. He didn't need them anyways.

So when the music cut out and the crowd started to grow tense, he'd known that his second chance was coming. Digging into the wide sleeve of his dress robes, he searched for his stowed wand and dragged it out into the open, holding it closely to his side. He heard someone shout out an incantation and watched as the people around him started to grow more agitated. And then, suddenly, there it was. The inferno. The Red Flower. Fire.

It was as if the sight of it activated every single student's battle instinct. Was that a thing: battle instinct? Regardless, the fire whipped the masquerade into a frenzy, as the guests started to become more aware of what was going on. Apparently, Adam wasn't the only one who had come with a plan. There were a good amount of kids firing Extinguishing Spells at the blaze, trying to snuff out the fire before it could cause any damage. That was good -- he might have to help them out, he was pretty comfortable with that spell. Another group had gathered by the doors, trying hard to force them open. When had they gotten closed? Adam saw Reid throwing himself against the wood, trying to get it to budge. He wished his friend a quiet good luck and made a note to check up on him once the more immediate concerns were processed.

Speaking of immediate concerns, there was another center of trouble not far from where Adam was now, focused around two very large individuals trying to haul off another student. Adam couldn't tell who it was under the mask, but that didn't change the fact that he was pretty sure he was witnessing an abduction. He took a few steps instinctively forward before he saw a number of his classmates launch a volley of spells against the assailants, with very little effect. In the distance, he heard a warning shouted out over the crowd. Magic wasn't going to help them win the fight.

Luckily, magic wasn't the only thing the students of Hogwarts knew how to do. Apparently, they were well-versed in all forms of violence. One guy [Jorah] had already made himself a bat and was swinging it around like his life depended on it (maybe it did). Someone in a truly terrifying mask [Xaliah] was giving one of the attackers hell. Adam didn't think his thirteen-year-old fists would be of any help over there either. So here he was, a man with a grand plan and nowhere to exercise it.

Come on, Adam, do something! The fear of being useless once more was almost as crushing as the fear of the disaster around him. Reid was doing his part, Serena's friend Adlai was leading a group towards the exit as well. He couldn't just leave, though, could he? He had to help somehow! Fidgeting anxiously in place, he tore off his stupid mask and turned to Eris.

"I'll be right back. Stay safe." Hoping she wouldn't get in his way, Adam turned to forge ahead into the fray when he saw Eri collapsed on the ground. Oh, god, he'd completely forgotten about her. The stress must have gotten to his housemate. Knowing there was little he could do for her in the face of everything else going on, he tried to call back desperately to Eris. "And help Eri! Please!" It was the last word he got out to her before zeroing in on his chosen target.

Though there were several places to help, he couldn't bear to live with himself if he let a fellow student get taken by whoever had invaded their school. Narrowing his eyes, Adam ran across the frenzied floor, trying to put out fires as he went. He was nearing the student with the bat, and as he got closer Adam recognized the figure, even past the mask. "Jorah!" he cried out. "Hey! Jorah! I'm here to help!" Holding his wand up and trying to will his hand not to shake, he tried to think of some way that he could help.

There was nothing. He had been so careful not to freeze, he had made it this far -- and yet, there was still nothing. All that Adam had done was move himself closer to the heart of danger.

ACTION: Move closer to Jorah and the giants, offer unfulfilled promise of help

@George Henry @Andrew Vance @Solomon Lear (as the giant) @Jorah Moussa (just in case he's in the way) @Adam Harringtom (just in case he's in the way too)

Permission has been given to play as Andrew Vance since they are currently unavailable due to family emergency. PM in Discord:

Andrew Vance Yesterday at 8:50 PM I have a family emergency. [cutting out what the emergency is, as it's not my place to share] Would like to get a post out for the Ball but I...just can't right now.      I give you permission to god-mod Andrew in your posts, if necessary.  I trust your judgement.

Heather gratefully let go of the pumpkin kid as his friend came to get him. "Thanks!" She stiffened at the smell of blood coming from the boy. "You're bleeding. Get that healed or wrapped tight. You'll be no help to anyone if you pass out." She couldn't see the wound, of course, but close as he was with fresh blood flowing, she could smell it easily enough.

Now that pumpkin boy was in better hands, she turned her attention back to Andrew, straightening her cane to its full length, which was chin height if she held it upright in front of her body. "Break one of those punch glasses for me. More if you can get them."

She could practically feel his unease as he grabbed the drinking glasses from a nearby abandoned table and smashed them against its edge.

"For the record, I'm doing this under protest," he said, "And you're blind! How are you even going to aim this thing?!"

"You're helping," she said simply, finding the elastic loop of the attached cord that bound her cane when folded and doubled as a handle, "Wrap the glasses up in this, tightly."

She felt surprisingly calm now, despite the craziness of the whole situation. Maybe just having a plan helped her focus? Even if it was beyond crazy and more likely to get them both pummeled.

Once the broken glasses were bound to the cane, she felt the cords carefully for any signs that they would fall off and found none. She just hoped they wouldn't slip and cut through the cord during the attack. Standing up, she gave Andrew the front end so he could aim, and held the back end so she could add her weight to the charge and possibly increase the damage done. Once they lined up their target (and the half-giant was pretty hard to miss in the crowd) she gave the word and they rushed towards it at ramming speed, makeshift spear held firm!

Jake shook and stared eyes wide and brain in overload as he was shook by a girl he didn't know. She screamed at him, grabbing him, yelling at him to get up as his heart raced in terror and his whole body froze. He let out another wail and couldn't move back any further when suddenly he felt something tap the top of his head, he looked up and his eyes locked onto a familiar face, and soon at his dorm-mate's encouragement he grasped George's hands with his own sweaty palms.

Jake felt himself yanked somehow to his feet, and in an instant he had wrapped George in a tight hug. "Georgie," the boy sobbed desperately, squeezing him. His friend's familiar body was the only comfort in a sea of confusion and panic, and Jake clung to it, choking on his tears as he sputtered and tried to say something else but was unable. He was scared...so scared...but George was brave and strong. George wasn't crying. Jake was crying so hard he couldn't see.

There was yelling and noises, and people trying to put out the fire. But what if they couldn't? It was going to be hot...what would it feel like to be burned? It would hurt...and then he'd be gone...and he would never see his parents again. They would never see him again either - he thought of the last time he ever hugged his Mum, and a fresh wave of tears ran down his face. He would give anything in the world to be there now instead of here and hug her again, instead of waiting to burn in the fire. Then Jake heard a familiar voice yelling his name and demanding he come, snapping him back to reality, but when Jake turned to look he couldn't see him. He was too little. "Lamik...!" Jake choked out. His legs felt weak...he was gonna fall down. Lamik had said over here now, but Jake couldn't get there...there was fire everywhere and it was so hot, and his legs weren't moving. His head remained plastered to George's side.