Ghosted and Toasted PV

14 February, 2025. Beauxbâtons Courtyard.

Kavi was in a slump. After staying out late into the night, waiting for a girl who didn't bother to show up, he had a terrible night's sleep, even after getting basically none the night previous, due to the full moon. He gave in to a few hours of fitful slumber before calling it quits before the sun came up. He tended to the wounds he gave himself the other night, still not able to go through a peaceful transformation. His arms looked a little worse for the wear, but luckily the cold weather provided the perfect excuse for layers and long sleeves to hide the effects of lycanthropy. Even a few months in, he was still ridden with the shame of his condition.

Despite his better judgement and the events (or lack thereof) of last night, he headed to the courtyard, a book of Shakespearean sonnets in hand. Poetry always seemed to calm his mind, even in the most stressful of situations, even when his mind was racing. Plus, he just loved rifling through the pages of old Muggle books, the scent absolutely intoxicating.

He opened the book before he even took a seat, his steps matching the iambic pentameter as he strolled, stopping only when he noticed someone out of the corner of his eye- a girl, probably around his same age, about a head shorter than him. He gave her a polite smile, closing his book as she approached. He wasn't expecting any sort of interaction, so was pleasantly surprised when she started talking. In typical Indian fashion, he shook his head, prepared to answer when a burst of heat exploded across his arm.

He let out a string of Kannadan swears that would have his Ajji scourgifying his mouth, trying to smother the flames on his sleeve. The "no!" he let out when the flames tried to eat at his book was distorted by a cry of pain as the fire crept to his flesh, to the still-fresh wounds from the other night. To Dee, it might have even sounded as it was a response to her question.

To make matters worse, once he had finally stifled the fire, the girl said three terrible words: "Aly says hi." He looked at her, incredulously. He was astounded. Dumbfounded. Gobsmacked. He couldn't even stammer out a word.

Perhaps it was a good thing that he didn't meet this Aly girl, considering she didn't even bother to show up and then sent her friend to beat him up.

He rolled up his slightly crispy sleeve, seeing blood starting to pool at the surface- she had managed to reopen one of his wounds from the other night.

"What did you do that for?"

Dee spent a few moments watching in satisfaction as the wanker frantically tried to extinguish the fire that was merrily licking up his sleeve, until, with some delay, a few details registered. First, he'd shaken his head. Second, the panicked no exclamation should have been rather hard to miss. Two denials, she'd only asked one question, and suddenly, panic raced down Dee's back. “Oh shit, oh no.” She raised her wand again, mentally rattling off healing spells to figure out which one was best to use. Was he bleeding? She'd set the wrong person on fire. “You're not Kavi? I'm so sorry, I could have sworn that guy pointed at you. I swear, when I find that asshole…”

Craning her head around, Dee tried to spot the true Kavi, someone else who matched the description - tall, black hair, brown skin, wearing an outfit that was identical to the one this guy had on, from the jeans to the nerdy sleeveless jumper… She paused. Her eyes narrowed. Turning back around, she likely looked ready to claw Kavi’s eyes out, not that she'd ever have to stoop to such a thing when she had her wand at hand. “You're bloody LYING TO ME?” she demanded, her voice increasing in volume and pitch. “Don't even have the balls to own up to your actions?" How had she considered healing him a moment ago? He was getting off too easy, even if it had taken him a pathetic amount of time to manually pat out the flames. Figured that he was incompetent on top of everything else. Well, he could do it again. "Incendio.” This time, the spell was aimed for his other sleeve and caught at the very edge of it, just enough for the fabric there to catch aflame.

She took a step closer, posture threatening even though Kavi was a good bit taller than she was. “What do you mean, What did you do that for?” She imitated his words mockingly, turning the words drawn out and whiny. “What kind of rat writes someone a letter and then stands them up? Right before Valentine's day?” She raised her wand further, until it pointed at his face. "And now what, you're trying to pretend you're someone else, let some other poor sod take the fall for you? I can't believe you. I should've done worse than set you on fire." Twice.

@Kavi Kattimani

Reducio

Dee casts Incendio (again)
Wisdom: [d20 : 19] + 16 = 35, success
Accuracy: [d20 : 6] + 20 = 26
Kavi Evasion: [d20 : 18] + 7 = 25
Hit

14 February, 2025. Beauxbâtons Courtyard.

He kept the same look of disbelief on his face as he cradled his wounded hand in the other, his book safe on the ground a little ways away. He tried to pull his bandages tighter, but there wasn't much you could do for werewolf scratches- even self-inflicted ones. If it kept up, he might have to go retrieve some dittany, especially so he wouldn't worry the younger ones in his cabin. He'd probably want some new bandages too, if only to hide the scars ever so slightly peeking out from his ruined shirt cuff.

It at least relieved him a little when the girl seemed to feel bad about the incident, although short-lived.

"No, I am Kavi..." he started to correct her, but she discovered all that on her own rather quickly. She seemed to fly at him, causing Kavi to quickly scramble for his wand. He had aimed to trap her in a full body-bind curse and figure out what the hell was going on, but the girl had easily avoided it, instead sending his other sleeve up in flames.

She was scary.

What kind of a person set someone on fire- twice? He raised his wand to the flames, intent on extinguishing it, but he got lost in the flames, almost like it was a kind of trance. His heart rate picked up, his mouth felt dry. Kavi was taken back to the day in October, explosions riddling the square, fire everywhere. It was like he was standing there again, only able to watch the remains of the Tenūsa carriage smolder- what was left of it, anyway. He still remembered the day prominently- it took the lives of 17 of his classmates. He wasn't able to do anything for them, not able to find any of them amongst the rubble or within the group he brought to safety. It was those same flames that took them, that he saw during the potions championship, that filled his mind now.

He took a few staggering steps backwards, eyes still trained on the flames, now starting to bite at his skin. Kavi blinked a few times, trying to get the fire out of his head, so he could get it off his arm. He almost thought that maybe he should leave it there, a testament to the lives lost.

That's ridiculous. Pull yourself together, he told himself, smothering the flames once more.

"A rat? Maybe you should ask your friend that question, seeing as she's the one that stood me up." He scoffed a little. Apparently the girl didn't even have the guts to tell her friends that she ghosted him. He thought girls loved telling their friends everything- evidently not her. He was starting to be more relieved that she didn't show up.

But the accusations the girl made were bold, not to mention how she pointed her wand in his face. He had half the mind to hex her right there, but his Ajji's chiding voice echoed through his head.

Decorum, Kavi, decorum, he reminded himself. He took a breath, mentally reciting a poem- If— by Rudyard Kipling, a copy of which was pressed into his hands by his father on his 17th birthday.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

Despite the wand still inches away from his nose, he did his best to give the girl grace, his features relaxing as he spoke calmly and plainly.

"Maybe we started off the wrong way. I'm Kavi Kattimani. I was stood up by your friend last night." He held out his hand for her to shake, before seeing the blood from his other hand on it. "Sorry, you probably don't want that one," he said, not that the other hand was any better.

Really, he just hoped she wouldn't set him on fire again.

At least the git was starting to show some backbone, even if it was laughably easy to evade the full body-bind curse he tried to aim at her. Granted, he was on fire, which likely didn't improve his aim, and Dee had always been quick on her feet, but still.

Except maybe there was something else going on, because instead of scrambling to extinguish the flames the way any sensible person would, Kavi just... kind of froze, wand in hand, staring at the flames as if transfixed. It was only a few seconds, but it was enough for Dee to shift from righteous anger to something close to concern. She wanted this day burnt into his memory (figuratively as well as literally), but she didn't want him to go up in flames and die.

She followed the steps he stumbled backwards, a confused wrinkle starting to appear between her eyebrows, and had just made up her mind to go ahead and extinguish the flames for him - what was the world coming to, having to extinguish the people you'd just set on fire? - when he finally started moving again, and managed to get rid of the flames with a little more grace than before.

He was also, apparently, finally willing to offer some explanation. Even if it was a ridiculous one.

"No, she didn't," Dee huffed at the outrageous claim, glaring at him. Her wand was still held out threateningly. Aly had been excited when she'd left their cabin night before last, hopeful, even. Dee had wished her luck, and told her not to do anything she wouldn't - which was silly, because Dee had always been the one more prone to spontaneous chaos of the two. She hadn't thought that Aly was all that invested in the whole thing, since the two hadn't met before and only exchanged one letter - it had been more intended as a first step, into the right direction. A chance of meeting someone new. But the tears later that night hadn't lied. "She was waiting at the fountain, like she said she would, and you didn't show."

Her eyes narrowed at the deep breath Kavi took, as if he was the one having to stay calm, and then she watched in disbelief when he introduced himself, and held out a hand. A hand with a singed sleeve, smeared with blood. Dee violently shoved down the twinge of guilt that tried to creep in at the sight. He'd deserved it, she told herself, and was once again reminded of the why of it all at his next claim. How dared he blame Aly for this? "That's bull..." she began, then trailed off. Blinked twice, her face relaxing, going slack. "Wait, did you just say last night?"

Was that... was that the explanation? He was just an idiot who couldn't keep dates straight? "You were supposed to meet the night before that," Dee pointed out, but the edge was clearly fading from her voice. Standing Aly up on purpose would have been an inforgivable offense. Standing Aly up out of stupidity... maybe he deserved a shot at redemption. Her eyes flickered down to Kavi's sleeves again, and the guilty conscious was slowly and surely creeping across her features. Perhaps she should have given him more than half a second to explain himself.

She let her arms sink, grimacing slightly. "I'm... Dee, Aly's best friend. And, uh, depending on your explanation for all this, I might be very sorry for setting you on fire. And I might offer you the healing salve I have in my cabin, you look like you could use it." She scrunched up her nose. "But I haven't quite decided just yet, so you better start talking."

@Kavi Kattimani