Problematic Poppets Private

In the least dramatic way possible, it had felt like agony to Illowy to wait for Xailah's word to come about when they were meeting with Professor Griffith. The girl had had so many questions ever since the Blossom Ball, and in spite of her best efforts, she was no closer to answering any of them. Sure, it was no trouble finding information about poppets and such, but that didn't tell her who made them, why, or how they could be so startlingly exact. Why were they just laying around in the Forbidden Forest? Illowy was certain she could fill a small book with the list of questions she had.

When the letter finally came, Illowy could hardly contain her excitement and was eager to finish this mystery.

With winter starting to bleed into the Scottish hills, Illowy prepared herself for the chill as she dressed herself in jeans and a thick knit sweater and as she exited the castle toward's the Professor's office, she clasped her winter cloak around her shoulders. Mentally, she tried to figure what exactly was going to happen and how this conversation was going to go down. She also hoped that Griffith would speak in phrases she might actually understand this time around unlike his odd chatterings about sporks and geckos and so on.

As she descended towards the Professor's, Illowy could see Xailah waiting at the door, her cat draped around her shoulders dramatically. Eagerly, she picked up her pace, trying to be careful not to lose her footing in the wet, frosty grass, "Xailah!" the girl called as she approached the older Prefect. The snake shook some loose waves out of her face, offering the other girl a nervous smile, "Mornin'. Any sign of Griffith yet?"

Pericles had not attended the ball, nor did he know any of its victims.
He was not intimately acquainted with this mystery, and by some accounts, one could assert the matter was "none of his business". Yet he had been involved all the same, this morally grey lad with an appetite for evidence. Like an attorney, only not nearly as vile nor in it for monetary reward. He arrived bright of eye with a pen in his pocket and two books under his arm: an old text with peeling cover, and a notebook as tidy and new as the boy who bore it.

Xailah had introduced him to this odd incident while enlisting his help in the library. The details she gave were quite vague, which only served to stoke Pericles' curiosity. He knew that the dolls looked like some of the students, and he knew that a professor had quickly whisked them away, but beyond that.... Really, all you need to know is that the dolls are very bad.
Perhaps it was all he had needed to know at the time. Now, Peri was doggedly determined to know more. After their impromptu research session, the Ravenclaw sent an owl discussing further findings on what sounded like the dolls she had described. It summarized some facts on Hag Dolls and Living Dolls, though he had been sure to bring the book itself. Protruding from its tired yellow pages was a considerately placed bookmark (or rather, a falcon's feather being used as one).

Before today, the first-year hadn't come as far the Care of Magical Creatures office. He wouldn't be learning in this area for another two years. So he took his time, looking this way and that, somehow managing not to bump into nor trip over anything as he soaked up the scenery. When he spied their ringleader and an unfamiliar student up ahead, he raised a gloved hand with a wave, sleepy smile manifesting while he picked up the pace to meet them. "Hullo Xailah!" he called once closer, adding a polite "And Schrödinger" upon arrival. That calmly content expression was turned to the Slytherin, who he greeted with an extended hand and a mild-mannered introduction. "Hullo. I don't think we've met yet? My name is Pericles Dralt, but you can call me Peri if you like." And, without losing his soft smile nor missing a beat, he prompted "Did one of the dolls look like you?"

A third-year Gryffindor, second-year Slytherin, and first-year Ravenclaw. All they really required was a fourth-year Hufflepuff to complete the collection and best heckle poor Professor Griffith.

A pained yipe, and snarl. A clattering of a bucket, but no response from the welshman. The door knocking wasn't loud, but it had startled his charge. His eyebrows knit together as he suppressed the annoyance he was staring to feel. No, he was still working. A slow, deep breath of air flooded into his lungs, then back out. It was his job, per contract, to help out the students of this godforsaken rock of a school. A creak, and the fastening of a latch followed. Aside from perhaps the yipe, most of what had just passed would not have been heard by the students gathering by the door. But it was clear what had happened in the blood that was dripping from his hand.

As he walked towards the first door, his wand touched the wound, rapidly closing it. But it seemed a poor job was done, because it was not completely closed. No, all it had done was staunch and suppress. He closed the first door, finding himself in the mudporch that was usually employed as his office and reception hall. Another wave of his wand, and bandages began to appear and wrap around his hand. There was still a little blood to be seen smeared on the professor's hand, but not much. It would take a fairly sharp eye to notice, and the bandage looked clean and snug.

Griffith reached the front door just as the bandage finished wrapping itself, and creaked it open, only to find the kleptomaniac weird child with the cat. She had proven to be a royal pain in the forest, and honestly he wasn't sure why he hadn't sent her off to detention. Maybe it was because he understood that she was doing what she thought was right, maybe because he was forgetful. There was a slytherin girl as well, who looked normal enough. Her eyes felt just haunted enough to hint at a sad backstory. Griffith had seen a lot of eyes before, and the little girl's were fairly tame when put in perspective, but she was too young to look like that. Much too young.

The boy didn't match the two girls. He seemed normal, his eyes weren't haunted, and he didn't have that off feeling, or that rebellious fire. If anything, he seemed more intelligent than perhaps he should. Why did all the students who came to him have to be such oddities? Was he doomed forever to attract the outcasts, the hurt and the orphaned?

All this examination hadn't lasted very long. Just a few seconds of the welshman's piercing eyes glaring lasers at the trio. The door wasn't entirely open, and only about one of his broad shoulders was illuminated by the light of day.

"Oh, this is going to be good."

He sounded exasperated, or perhaps annoyed. Maybe it was simple displeasure, but the professor was certainly not thrilled to see them. A group of kids that included the little albtraum girl was certainly not destined for a warm reception, but at the same time it was certain to be accepted. The name fit, she was a nightmare. But a nightmare with a surprisingly solid moral compass. That earned her a very, very secret spot as one of his favorite students. A spot that was well concealed by layers of annoyance.

OOC: Hello! Sorry for how long this took, life is busy right now, but I'm here and I promise to be on top of this better!

It would appear that Alexx had gotten herself into a pickle. She didn't do things for others, especially not those who she barely knew. She simply had no reason to. Life was a series of contracts; you had to be receiving something in return for what you were giving. Being a genuinely good person for the sake of doing so? Well, it just wasn't that simple. Maybe to some, the more naive of society, though Alexx supposed that natural selection would come for them soon enough. Then they would learn. They all would...

To be entirely fair, Alexx had almost forgotten what it was that she was doing here. It was a half-hearted gesture, allowing herself to partake in this endeavor, and she had tucked it away in the back of her mind, deciding that it was a problem to be dealt with at a later date. Well, she didn't expect for her to get so sidetracked the other day in Professor Lydursdattir's class as she recalled that she had a job to do. Something about a doll, which seemed rather childish, but hey, who was Alexx to question the magical world and a strange girl such as Xailah Alptraum?

Alexx was the last to arrive. She seemed to be the one who cared the least about being there, too. "Bonjour, my sincerest apologies for running late. I was eating a bagel."Which was the truth; she had been enjoying a delicious bagel with sesame seeds and cream cheese and- well, she could think of food later. Shaking her head to regain her train of thought, she started up again. "Right! Dolls and stuff. Sorry, I'm probably the least informed about the situation, but I'll probably pick up on it as I go." Though she had been briefed on what was happened, as aforementioned, Alexx had God-awful memory when it came to the important, non-academic stuff.

"Oh! Griffith, you're here too! How lovely." Though she wasn't taking his class and had no desire to, the tall professor did not elude her in the slightest, as he was a rather ominous figure that appeared to loom the grounds. Whatever mysterious acts he was plotting was none of her business, but since the had to interact, then she supposed she would make the most of it. Besides, Alexx was merely the messenger. No need to get tangled up in the dramatics. She was just here because... Well, why was she here?

The Gryffindor was willing to camp outside Griffiths door all day, like a lost dog, if she had to. Thankfully she wasn't going to have to do that. Well, at least she wouldn't have to do that alone. Not long after Xailah showed up, Illowy would arrive as well. Despite the awkwardness of their last encounter, the Gryffindor prefect found herself delighted to see the snake once again. She waved to the serpent with a single gloved hand. "Hallo Illowy! I was beginning to think that you didn't get my letter." She was relieved that Alexx could be trusted enough, to deliver letters. The lioness had always been wary, when allowing other to carry out task that where meant for her. She was never one to send out other students to run her errands; seeing that several members of the student body- including herself, could be deemed...untrustworthy.

The cub shifted a bit, peering back at the door. "No, not yet. But sssomething is definitely moving around in there." She motioned in the direction of Griffiths cabin. "I'm beginning to wonder if one of his critters ate him." She let out a nervous snicker. This probably wasn't the time to make morbid comments such as that. "Also, Illowy I need to speak with you about sssomething- after we talk to Griffith." Her voice took on a slightly nervous tone, as her eyes shifted from the Slytherin, to the door; it was as if she was afraid of Griffith hearing her. Her mind wandered to the doll in her pouch. The prefect would grow quiet, as she and the other girl continued to wait for the professor. The case on the dolls, was not going to come to an end, today. It was just starting. It had been revived. This was merely just the beginning, of something more.

Schrödinger had begun to stir on the prefects shoulders, as someone approached the trio. He trilled. Which was his way of greeting something familiar, or notifying his mistress that he wanted a snack. Xailah had turned, to find the little bird she had met in the library. Pericles obviously was not a snack. Xailah brightened a little at the sight of the boy, her slitted pupils alighting. "Pericles! Hallo!" She beamed. The Gryffindor would watch the bird greet the snake. No intervention was necessary, they were completely capable of introducing themselves. Well, almost. At Pericles sudden questioning of the dolls; Xailah would find herself avoiding eye contact with both peers, as if she were a dog that had just been caught doing something it wasn't supposed to.

Normally, such directness was admired by the Gryffindor. But for some reason the lioness only found herself slightly embarrassed by the boys question to Illowy. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she knew deep down; 'Did one of the dolls look like you?' wasn't really a question anyone would want to be greeted with. The boy obviously meant no harm, but Illowy of all people, did not deserve to be greeted with such a question. The lioness hoped Illowy did not have a problem with her dragging this boy along. She had tried her best to avoid him getting too involved with the situation, but in the end she just couldn't help it. She had left out a lot when she told him about the dolls. She had not told him about the fire- who caused the fire, what exactly happened in the forest, or about the little girl Rosie. There were just some things she didn't want him knowing at that moment in time.

The lioness would remain fairly quiet through the duration of the conversation held between the bird and the snake- if there was even a conversation to be had. Come on Griffith open up. She would go to knock on the door again, but would be brought to a halt, at the sound of a shifting doorknob. The grating of the door, would trigger the child to jump back. "Oh." Well now what? She looked back at the snake and the bird. They had come here to see Griffith. Griffith was here. But now what do you do? The lioness wrinkled her nose at the professor. "Of course it is going to be good. As you can see I have amassed a small army." She gestured to Illowy an Pericles. "And-" And? Well, what was she supposed to do now? She sighed, and turned to Illowy. "Do you want to tell him why we're here? He's looking at me weird."

She would shuffle to the side, in case Illowy wanted to take the reigns. Perhaps Illowy wouldn't need to provide an explanation as to why the trio was their. Maybe the third-year Slytherin, Alexx Séverin, had already done that for her. Alexx was an unexpected guest. Her part was to play the Mailman- but it looked like she would be playing a role, much bigger than that of the messenger. Xailah respected both of the snakes in her party, but respected Alexx a little more so- mostly because she was older. Xailah and Alexx had their similarities- though Xailah couldn't quite put her finger on it just yet. Perhaps their only similarity were their oddly spelt names- who knew? Because the cub certainly didn't.

"Alexx." The blonde would be greeted with a courtly nod. "I was not expecting you- but I am pleased to see, that you were able to make it here." The prefect offered the girl a welcoming smile, before shooting professor Griffith a fairly dirty look. How did Alexx find out about this? Had she slipped up by mistake? Well, she didn't know, and quite frankly did not care. She just hoped that Alexx had enough sense to not put anything related to the dolls, in the headliner. What she did care about though, was getting inside. Standing outside in the cold, was beginning to prove an uncomfortable task for the Gryffindor. The lioness was starting to get fidgety.

The girl shook her head, "Believe me, dragons wouldn't keep me away from this." she assured. It had been almost unbearable waiting for the upperclassmen's letter, though it had surprised her that she chose to use Alexx of all people to carry such an important notification. However, the air around them seemed to shift as Xailah's features grew more serious, and Illowy picked up on the uneasy glint in the girl's eyes as she asked to speak to Illowy after the meeting, "Of course." the brunette answered simply. Had something about the situation changed? Perhaps Xailah had learned something new... or what if it was something bad? Either way, the tension that seemed to resonate didn't give the snake much comfort to the conversations nature.

Thoughts of that were torn away as a new addition trotted himself down the hill. Illowy hadn't really expected such a crowd for the meeting that was to happen today. Much less did she expect the presence of a first year who hadn't even been enrolled in the school at the time of the event. It wasn't for Illowy to question though, after all Xailah set this whole thing up, and surely she wouldn't have invited the lad if he wasn't of some use to them.

She offered a smaller smile to him then what she'd offered to the third year, though it almost completely vanished when he questioned about the dolls, "I um..." Merlin, how was she to answer such a question? Easily, the answer was yes, but it was harder to confirm that to a stranger then she wanted to admit. How much had the older girl told him about the situation? What exactly did he know? Illowy could only assume that those questions would eventually be answer, "I'm Illowy Magnard." she spoke, choosing to avoid the question altogether.

Introductions were thankfully cut short when the door was finally open to them. Illowy had seen the tall, broad man several times around the school, but this was her first time really seeing him up close in the daylight. That night at the Blossom Ball, he'd been more like a guardian shadow whisking them left, right and center, practically herding the lot of them to try to keep them all alive. In her haste to finally have some sort of information on these dolls, she'd neglected to consider all of the terrible memories and emotions that would be forced to the topsoil by simply being back in her rescuer's presence.

She'd have to force those down a little while longer. One issue at a time.

The older girl spoke confidently as to them being there, before she stepped aside and threw a glance back at Illowy. The snake hesitated before stepping forward. However, there was one more straggler to join this little meeting as Alexx's made her entrance, going on about breakfast and her being late. Who could even think about such a thing when today was so important? Then again, what did Alexx know of the events of that night as well? She hadn't been there, but perhaps there was some reasoning of Xailah's having her come as well? Assuming that the lioness had invited her former dueling partner along for the ride.

Offering a small smile and a nod to Alexx, Illowy turned her attention back to the professor once more, doing her best to hold herself a little taller and more confidently then she actually felt by this point, "Professor, we want to know more about the dolls." she explained, "The ones we found in the Forbidden Forest. And... and if you still had them." perhaps the last part was more of a curiosity on her part, but it could be useful information if he did still have them.

Xailah's enthusiastic welcome- not to mention the pleasant little chirrup from dear Schrodinger- cast a shade of warmth across the pale boy's freckled face. Naturally, he bee-lined for the feline with a perfectly cordial "Hullo, sir." When the time came to pick a pet, perhaps he wouldn't opt for a cat at all. It would give him more excuses to spend time with other student's furry familiars. Lingering by the dynamic duo, he held out his knuckles, waiting to see if Schrodinger was in the mood for attention. Regrettably, he missed his hosts' embarassed expression, and he did not bat an eye at the Slytherin's aversion. Peri simply stared on with that small, tenacious, carved-from-stone smile of his. "A pleasure, Illowy." His eyes crinkled at the corners with sincerity.

Alexx's arrival saw him perking. Peri understood rather little of the witch. He knew her from a professional distance through the Headliner, though they had yet to speak in person, save the time he had tried to intercept her for an introduction during a yard-cleaning errand. Despite her hard shell of an exterior, for some god-forsaken reason, the young eagle had decided- since the moment he first laid eyes on her- that he wanted to be her friend. Perhaps he liked a challenge. Perhaps he was simple and tactless. Whatever the reason, friendliness or foolishness, Pericles greeted the girl with the formalities of a superior from the paper and an uncharacteristic enthusiasm. "Miss Séverin!" He waved with the hand which wasn't obliging Schrodinger's favor for ear-scritches. "Hello!"

This exceedingly strange welcome was nothing compared with the way he regarded Professor Griffith. This was a real live teacher! Now granted, the bulk of the young Dralt's mentors were, to the best of his knowledge, both real and live. But Professor Griffith was the only one he had thus far interacted with beyond a classroom setting. Therein the boy craned his neck, staring up and up at this terribly tall, scarily scraggly, grizzly and glowering man as if he were, instead, a unicorn. His eyes were wide with wonder, a dozen questions swimming in their silver. What had the sound been? What was that coppery tang in the air? Was it a creature? Was it an injured creature? Naturally, the lad did not vocalize any of these questions. He allowed his companions to do the talking. Skull buzzing with curiosities on the inside, he appeared to be simply staring and smiling with wonder and awe. Those unnatural eyes were wide and fixed.

Poor Professor Griffith was not likely to have an encounter with the boy which was anything except weird.

((Hey guys, sorry for dropping the ball on this! I'll be keeping a closer eye on due posts from here out))

The slytherin came across as a total airhead. Wonderful, just what he needed. It seemed to Griffith that Slytherin only partially cared about adaptability, or ambition. It seemed to him that the house of snakes were filled with anyone that had an overinflated opinion of themselves, or happened to be wealthy. There were some good snakes, to be sure. Slytherins that exemplified the virtues of their house, which was something the professor of Magical creatures respected. Still, this girl? She was going to be a walking headache.

The Gryffindor kleptomaniacal metamorph, or else x-man, whichever accounted more accurately for her cat eyes, seemed uncomfortable, probably cold, as she explained that she had gathered a small army, which Griffith mentally cataloged as a ragtag group of friends who didn't all even have to be there, assuming that this was about the forest, which he judged it was, because honestly he didn't see why else a girl like the Gryffindor would seek out a professor. She tried to pawn off the responsibility of explaining the situation to a compatriot, who clearly fell short of his duties. He did make sure to note that the Slytherin hadn't been expected. Maybe he could send her away for something, leave himself with less kids to deal with?

The second slytherin seemed much more capable, and began prying him for information on the dolls. Of course she was prying him for information on the accursed objects. And of course she wanted to know if he still had them. Griffith took a deep breath, releasing it slowly in a steady stream of mist from his mouth, it was cold, and the wind caused his still visible breath to swirl around and away before he responded.

"Is that why you're here? All of you?"

The ravenclaw seemed incredibly odd. He was, perhaps, the most ravenclaw-seeming ravenclaw that Griffith had ever clapped eyes on. The greeting directed at him was answered by nothing more than a "mm"

"You all look cold, so let's hurry up and figure out what's going on. Do you feel like you should be treated like thinking, rational adults. Are you all here about what happened in the forest? And if so, do you all actually want to be here and talk about it, or are some of you just here for emotional support. If you're here to dance circles around an old man with your harebrained schemes, then I'd rather save us both the trouble"