Breakfast Brawl PV Rafa D PV Jo M PV Ruka T Clo

@Jack Burnett@Jo Morgan@Ruka Tân


[font=Segoe Print]"Morning, Birdie. Lioness."
 
Rafael's ears were burning. Or maybe it was his face, red-hot with anger. The burning could have been from his hand, where his nails were digging into his palm without relent, coming back with a thick, damp substance. Though, it was a bit hard to concentrate on that feeling at the moment, as Raf’s mind was certainly other places. Jack's very voice was killing the boy’s ears, grating against his patience like nails on a chalkboard. There were no words in the English dictionary – the Spanish dictionary, at that – to describe the thought going through his head. But if he tried, perhaps he could compare it to blind rage. His mouth was downturned in a sneer, his entire being radiating with his own fury like a damaged heater, clouding his mind with smoke and making it hard to think straight –
 
To put it simply, Jack was going to have to die.
 
"I'd love to play with you, but I'm busy feeding a fellow lion of yours at the moment. Come back another time. Maybe I'll be less busy then."
 
Who. Did he think. He was.
 
Rafael put on one of his acting faces. It was harder than usual, he noticed absently, the bright smile now on his face, perfectly convincing as it was, being painful to keep upon his [handsome] features. He let out a laugh, bright and friendly, a burning bridge meant to lure the snake in with its kindness, a trap that Jack would surely catch. “That’s – that’s funny,” he said wryly, a brightness to his voice, carrying an odd, ominous edge to it, surely unnoticed to the inattentive. Unbeknownst to those around him, the boy’s insides were smoldering with fire, the same that burnt cities and killed people. The rage he felt inside – he wasn't sure he'd ever felt it while he was at Hogwarts. No, it had certainly been a while. Perhaps the last time he'd felt it would be at home, among his family.
 
[One of his younger pseudo-uncles had made a comment about the boy’s sister. The ordeal had ended with shattered china, two broken restaurant tables, and a trip to the ER. For the both of them.]
 
[Rafael had won.]
 
There was this feeling of immense anger, washing over the boy like a tidal wave of impulse, leaving his hands shaking and his throat utterly dry. He was fuming, as it was beginning to get harder to hide, his smile waning at the corners and his friendly gaze intensifying in the slightest. He knew at this point that there wasn’t anything he could do. He was a ticking time bomb. It was only a matter of time before he exploded and seriously hurt someone. He was – he was –
 
He was shoving the little son of a bitch against the brim of the Gryffindor table.
 
Dishes rattled at the impact, goblets falling and water spilling over the dark mahogany wood as Rafael’s grip tightened on the Slytherin’s robes, his knuckles digging into the boy’s back without a moment of mercy. His eyes narrowed, his face now showing the extent of his fury, a deep scowl and dark eyes as he shoved Jack farther into the table. It was slightly satisfying, in some strange, sadistic way, feeling the pressure between his fists and the other boy, pushing him into the edge of the table with a sort of strength that wouldn't be easily shaken. A quick, sweet, satisfying moment.
 
And just like that, the moment was over.
 
Without waiting a moment more, Rafael gripped the robes of the other first year, pulling him out of his seat in one swift manner, not even waiting to see how the Slytherin had recovered, if he was fighting back, or succumbing to his fate. Jack was shoved against the table once more, this time his back colliding with the table. And, the next thing the Gryffindor could process, his arm was reared back, his knuckles white.
 
There was nothing anyone could do to prevent Raf’s fist as it crashed into the side of Jack’s face.
 
[Little did he know, it was likely the only punch he would make.] [/font]

“I thought I told you not to call me Lioness,” Jo hissed, venom dripping from every word. “I guess you were too busy pretending to be clever, so I’ll give you a pass. Good morning, Burnett.”

This thing that she felt - it was beyond anger. Beyond what she could have called anger or even rage. There was no word for it. Maybe there was. Unbridled fury, perhaps. The kind of seething wrath that turned men to beast, friend to foe, rational thought to impulse, and the world to a quivering mass of red. It was the kind of feeling that made her do things she might not even remember doing.

Rafa was pushing Jack against the table, and for once Jo couldn’t be bothered to care. A goblet of pumpkin juice wobbled dangerously on the table, and the girl instinctively grabbed it as it fell. She gripped the cup, staring emotionlessly into the orange liquid while internally hesitating as to what to do. Putting it back down would be stupid. It would be logical. It would mean she wasn’t as pissed as she thought she was.

Jo locked her eyes onto Jack’s as she lifted the goblet, tilting it in a “cheers” motion. The metal rim of the cup met her lip just as Rafa’s fist smashed into Burnett’s face. It was sweet. The sugary liquid, or the gleeful satisfaction of Burnett getting his just due? She couldn’t tell. She didn’t care. The juice cooled her throat, but not her brain.

She tossed the cup aside, a dangerous glint in her eye as she realized just how powerful she felt when it clattered to the floor. The witch had zero fucks left to give, and she wasn’t afraid to show the boy exactly what that meant. Jack wanted a lioness, and he was gonna get just that.

“Red and green, huh, Jackie?” She crooned, feigning leisure as she calmly strolled towards her enemy. “A complimentary color scheme can be quite the flattering look, but last time I checked you weren’t really one for Christmas. Tell me you haven’t forgotten all about that, too.”

Suddenly there was something in her hand. Right. The thing. The thing she had been carrying around in her bag ever since the incident. Embarrassingly enough, Rafa could verify that, which was why Jack wouldn’t recognize it. It had been unwrapped from its gift packaging.



“I’ve got a present for you. Just a little something to jog your memory, hm? You’ll have to excuse my manners for unwrapping it for you…but I just think it hurts more without the paper. Merry. FUCKING Christmas, Jack Burnett.”

And with that, she pitched the stupid cube with all her might at the Slytherin's groin.

(Jack, it's up to you whether or not the cube hits its target.)

@Rafael D'Spacito, @Jo Morgan, & @Ruka Tân

While Jack had been expecting the pair to come over, he hadn't realized they would be brazen enough to outright initiate an attack, especially in front of Ruka and all the other students watching. Furthermore, while Rafa's temper was well-known to the Slytherin, Jo's was not. The only time he had glimpsed it even for a second was when he had called her a Lioness the first time he had met her and he was still curious as to why that was, thus why he had used the term again despite the knowledge it irked her.

Furthermore, Jack preferred dealing with people when they were angry - one, because people tended to show their truest natures when they were upset, irritated, or generally dealing with negative emotions, and two, because he believed the emotional impairment that others sustained while he was able to keep a level head gave him a significant advantage in direct, confrontational conflict like this.

However, there were a few things he didn't account for. While strong emotions clouded judgement, encouraged bravery/stupidity, and made it less likely for people to think straight, they also made people more determined, dangerous, and unpredictable. There was no chance of reasoning with either enraged Gryffindor while they were in their current states and the impulsiveness of their actions caught Jack off-guard. He had sorely underestimated their fury and the lengths were were willing to go to see it through.

Rafael's first behaviors simultaneously disarmed Jack and put him on edge. It was very similar to the move the Quidditch player had used on him on New Year's Eve, so Jack probably should have been better prepared for it this time, but the technique rattled him so much with its friendly warmth and radiating kindness that it was all the redhead could do to tense up. At the last moment, he recalled what little-known fact the other boy knew of him and remembered to be afraid.

His mouth was slightly ajar, lips barely parted as he turned to look at Rafa with a furrowed brow, but he could say nothing. That captivating smile and inviting laugh, though they must have been born of contempt, sent shivers down Jack's spine and he might as well have been paralyzed with paranoia. Or was it something else? He had no clue. And he had no time to analyze it, either. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself shoved brutally against the unforgiving edge of the dining table.

With a teeth-gritting groan, Jack shut his eyes and winced at the impact, hoping against hope that Ruka wasn't watching. He didn't want the fire-dancer to get involved with something that was entirely his business. He made his bed and he could sleep in it - but had Rafa and Jo had to choose the time when Ruka was around to hurt him? Then again, with all three being Gryffindors and with how much time Jack had been spending with Ruka lately, he supposed it would have been inevitable.

If Rafa had enough brains still functioning to use strategy against Jack, the Slytherin figured maybe there was a chance to get through to him with words after all. Ignoring the pain of the knuckles against his back as best he could, he endured being pressed harder against the table before attempting to speak to his assailant. It was the wrong time, though. He couldn't even get one word out before Rafael was pulling him from his seat only to turn him around and throw his back against the table this time.

Perhaps he had positioned Jack in such away so the other boy could see the fist flying straight for his face, because that was exactly what happened. It was too quick and unanticipated for Rafa's target to dodge or make any sort of move to defend or even brace himself. Jack tasted blood as his struck cheek was cut against the edge of his teeth from the punch. Out the corner of his vision, he noticed Jo taking a sip from a goblet of pumpkin juice after cheerfully toasting his beating.

Trying to take deep breaths while examining the damage in his mouth with his tongue, the Slytherin found himself intrigued by the girl's dialogue. Christmas? Oh, was that was she was cross about? From the way she was acting, Jack would have thought he'd poisoned her pet or something. It wasn't his fault she hadn't given him her present to open later like he'd suggested. And he'd left the Secret Santa mostly out of respect for Rafael's obvious dislike of him, so why were they both punishing him for it now? It seemed like he could never win.

Though he hadn't had time to defend himself or reach for his wand, even if he had had time, he probably wouldn't have taken either action. He hadn't even bothered resisting and his logic for that was this: if those watching simply saw the events unfold from an unbiased point of view, Jack's few words of provocation likely wouldn't have been enough to justify the acts of violence he'd been subjected to in the eyes of other students.

To not resist made Jack seem all the more the victim which made simply taking the beating the smartest course of action. But the smartest decision wasn't always the wisest one - smartness being a process of learning and wisdom being a product of experience - and the attacks still hurt like hell. However quickly the nurse could fix him up, Jack wouldn't soon be forgetting that first-hand exposure to Rafa's raw strength and power. Nor would he soon forget what he assumed to be Jo's Secret Santa gift.

The curious cube caused him to frown in bewilderment as he pondered just how it had been made and how it worked. His brain must have still been numb from the jarring of that punch, though, because it was too late before he registered what Jo actually planned to do with it and that he probably should have been thinking of ways to avoid it instead. Still pinned to the table and caught up in Rafa's grasp, he didn't really have much chance to evade the throw and wasn't looking to get stabbed by trying to catch the cube at one of its sharp corners. It didn't occur to him that the target site of Jo's throw might have been a much more unpleasant place to get hurt by the projectile.

Jack's eyes bulged and he uttered a small squeak as his groin was struck. He instinctively tried to double over, holding his crotch, but that was made a little difficult with Rafa still holding onto him. He would have liked to try to talk things out, but suddenly he was incapable as his focus was stuck on the pain of his private parts.

At the very least, the blood-thirsty lions didn't appear to try to go for Ruka. If Jack could hold their attention and perhaps even satisfy them with his suffering, maybe they would continue to leave the small-statured second-year alone. Their quarrel was only with him, anyway.

- Action -
Attempting to dodge Jo's throw

@Jack Burnett, @Rafael D'Spacito, @Jo Morgan

Ruka wasn‘t sure what he‘d expected from his two housemates coming over exactly, but it definitely wasn‘t outright violence.

Of course, the two Gryffindors had seemed hostile and clearly very unhappy about Jack being at their table, but Ruka didn‘t want to believe that either of them were reckless and stupid enough to attack another student right there in the Great Hall where everyone was able to see it.

So when the Gryffindor boy actually reached out to slam Jack against the table‘s edge - forced friendliness be damned - Ruka found himself frozen in shock. The spoon he‘d held up until that point clattered loudly to the floor but he couldn‘t hear it over the blood rushing in his ears. His breathing sped up nervously, his body trembled with rising adrenaline he didn‘t know what to do with.

All he really could do in that moment was watch as the aggressive lion pushed and shoved Jack around like he was nothing but a stuffed animal.

„What-“ Ruka started, standing up from his seat without even realising it, just as the other Gryffindor boy delivered a clearly painful blow straight to Jack‘s face. „Stop that!“ he rasped out but he was quite sure nobody had heard him or was even paying him attention at all.

The girl was talking as well, but Ruka could barely hear her at all, much too focused on the way Jack was pinned against the table, held down by someone clearly much taller and stronger than himself. It wasn‘t a fair fight, and it got even worse when the Gryffindor girl also involved herself by aiming a throw directly at Jack‘s groin with some strange, possibly metal cube. 

It was all Ruka could bear watching before instinct took over.

He could see the pain on Jack‘s face, could see the way the Gryffindor boy was relentless and clearly had no intention of letting Jack go any time soon. He was aware of how little the girl seemed to care about a student getting severely hurt by her housemate, and even if Ruka hadn‘t gotten as close to Jack as he had recently, he still would have felt obliged to do something.

He looked back and forth between the three parties involved, trying hard to assess the situation; The girl, while clearly enjoying Jack‘s pain, didn‘t seem to be of any more immediate danger, but the boy actually had Jack in a spot of no escape, and where that one punch had come from, multiple more could easily follow.

No, he wasn‘t going to let that happen, he needed to somehow get this boy off Jack. With a short glance down at his burnt, scarred hands, he quickly decided against throwing punches; this boy was tall and clearly much stronger than Ruka himself, so trying to hit him would probably just be hurting himself more.

With a quick look around the table, Ruka grabbed for the first thing he could reach; his own goblet filled with pumpkin juice. His wand stayed forgotten in his pocket for the moment - What good was a barely developed skill of less than two years compared to years of experience with nothing but ordinary objects?

There was no other thought in his head aside from needing to get this beast off of Jack as fast as possible, so he used the fact that nobody really seemed to be paying him any attention, to gather all his force and take advantage of the other Gryffindor‘s slightly bent over form by slamming the goblet right against the back of his head.

Pumpkin juice spilled everywhere.

@Ruka Tân @Jack Burnett @Jo Morgan

[font=Segoe Print]Rafael was a terrible, terrible person.

Gryffindors weren’t supposed to be hot-headed, he thought absently. No, Lions were supposed to be brave, longsuffering, patient, keepers of the peace, those who defended the weak. Guardians. Yet, here he was, his fists throbbing in repercussion to the impact against the snake’s face, his eyes boring into Jack’s skull with a renewed sort of contempt, in complete contrast to everything he was to stand for. Those were the thoughts lingering at the edges of his mind, his own conscience trying to power through his adrenaline rush, trying and failing to give him any remorse. Because, the funny thing was, he honestly couldn’t bring himself to care all that much. He didn’t feel sorry. He only felt anger.

The impact of his fist against Jack’s face had brought him a great, yet fleeting sense of pleasure, a feeling in which he felt absolutely no shame in as his eyes hungrily searched the face of the charlatan in front of him. The snake looked as he were in pain – if that didn’t send another wave of gratification through his figure, he didn’t know what would. It seemed his tactics were working, he thought wryly, a small, bitter smile coming to his face. Good. However, Jack hadn’t gotten the worst of his punishment. Not in the least.

No, the boy had warranted much more than a punch in the face. He’d kissed both Rafa and his boyfriend, the thunderbird briefly reminded himself, all the while making Jo cry. Not only that, but he’d treated the two lions with utter disrespect, a misdemeanor that would never, ever go unpunished. Jack would have to receive the full force of Rafael’s fists, the only disciplinary action that could teach the sadistic snake a lesson. He would have to feel the very pain he’d made Rafael feel. An eye for an eye.

The boy felt his fist unconsciously clench at the notion, his eyes narrowing in on his target once more. No mercy. He wasn’t even sure he was thinking clearly anymore, as the world around him had blurred into black and whites, his focus on the one, the only thing that mattered. Jack would no longer cross him, not after a beating like this. He hadn’t even realized his arm had been brought back until a moment later, his knuckles white and eyes blazing. Without so much as a second thought, he’d sent his fist hurtling towards the boy’s face once more, the full force of his strength narrowed in on his one target as –

Pain exploded from the back of his head.

Rafael wasn’t very sure where the feeling had even come from, nor could he pinpoint the cause. All he could really focus on was the sudden throbbing of the impact, the very feeling leaving his vision black for a moment – he fell forward, his fist only making half-contact with the cursed Slytherin’s face as he stumbled, his hand reached for the table, gripping the edge in order to keep himself upright. His head was pounding, his mind reeling, as his senses fought to keep up with the situation at hand. What… the bloody hell was that…. He blinked, dismissing a bout of spots from his eyes, surveying his surroundings, his anger only burning wilder inside of his chest. Burning to uncharted territory. Who could be the cause for such an offense? And what would be the proper method of torture to suffice his burning anger?

The disgrace in question had been a short, shrimpy little fellow, a face in which the young Gryffindor had yet to put a name to. The kid stood at an entire foot below him, more or less [Note: How had he attacked Rafael when he was so short? Was it possible the assailant was someone else?], his appearance much like that of the cursed Slytherin in question. Copper hair rested on his head, green slitted snake eyes staring contemptuously at the young Gryffindor, horns protruding from his head like the sadistic little demon he was –

[The young Gryffindor’s imagination was working overtime. Poor Ruka.]

Rafael growled in anger, his fury twisting within his stomach, piquing in the most deadly way possible. He felt embarrassed, disgraced – but his newfound wave of fury was no longer the cause of such an attack. No, the fuel to his rage was the emblem on the boy’s robes. A lion. And to think he could have ever relied on his fellow Gryffindors for loyalty and support. The boy was an utter traitor, a snake in lion’s clothing, a humiliation to the code of his house. Rafael’s scowl turned into an almost wolf-like grimace, the waves of anger radiating off of him enough to drown anyone in a fit of rage. The demon-boy had signed his own death warrant.

Without so much as a further assessment, nor a thought towards tactic, the thunderbird hurtled towards the demon boy in a grappling move, taking the both of them down to the dusty floors. [/font]

@Rafael D'Spacito @Jack Burnett @Ruka Tân


Jack let out a beautiful, harmonious squeak as her cube slammed into his crotch, like a mouse pleading for mercy at the hands of a lioness. This was strength, perhaps. The ability to crush an enemy without resorting to whispering rumors in the shadows and playing intricate mind games. The latter certainly had its perks, but she was surprised at how delicious the power of sheer force could be. Her action, while violent, was certainly nothing evil since Jack had deserved it in her mind. Nothing that warranted the prickling of her superego, but a guiltless and perfect execution of justice. A clear step upwards in the school food chain. What more could the first-year ask for?

Definitely the absence of a Gryffindor on the villain's side. An orange liquid splashed onto her clothing, but the momentary disgust at her robe's disgrace quickly reverted once more to seething anger as she realized that Jack's little sweetheart had thrown a goblet at Rafa's head.

He could have just walked away. The bone they had to pick with Jack had nothing to do with his friend. But no, the boy just had to step in and defend the bad guy - but come to think of it every movie henchman probably thought of himself as the hero, running to save their friend in "distress".

Rafa had taken the boy down before she could even open her mouth to taunt him, grappling mercilessly with his fellow Gryffindor. Hm. It seemed Jo still wasn't used to brawn over brains. Of course, by the looks of it Rafa had muscle enough for the both of them.

"I bet you think he cares about you." she crooned at the other Gryffindor whose name she didn't know before turning back to Jack. The Slytherin was much more of interest to her.

"Georgie, Porgie, pudding and pie." she began with a cold sneer, inspecting the upturned glasses and general mayhem that they had caused atop the tables as she slowly meandered over to him. "Kissed some boys and made them cry. But when they all came out to play, Georgie Porgie ran away. Sound like anyone we know, now, Burnett?"

Her anger was strangely receding now - she'd done enough to him already to express her hatred. She'd already won, so she really should quit while she was ahead. "Self-preservationist, huh. How's that going for you? I don't think you're preserving too much by getting your face bashed in. I mean, how long did you think you could get away with kissing the Thunderbird? And... did it even cross your mind that you ought to feel even a little bit bad for embarrassing me in front of everyone else by leaving like you didn't want to be there, just because you were scared of a little thunder from the Thunderbird?"

She looked the boy up and down, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Well, you're certainly not worth a detention. Rafa, are you ready to leave or should I go without you?"

@Rafael D'Spacito, @Jo Morgan, & @Ruka Tân

Somewhere through the mind-numbing pain, Jack was thinking things could hardly get worse in the physical hurt department. He wanted to laugh, but settled for doing so mentally. Through his haze, he vaguely remembered that he had asked Rafa about a month ago on New Year's Eve if they could continue Rafa's session of beating him up at a later date. Well, if this was the later date he chose, so be it.

"Don't ever show me the least amount of mercy or warmth or concern. Because I promise you, whatever good you think you may be doing now, you'll end up regretting it eventually."

Hadn't those been his very words to Rafa? Therefore, he couldn't blame the lion for doing exactly as he'd told him. This was a good thing...right? No matter what, physical pain was still always, always infinitely better than the emotional sort. Jack kept this in mind as he saw Rafa's fist pull back once more, readying to punch him a second time.

Unfortunately, the emotional pain the Slytherin had been so grateful to avoid soon involved itself in the form of a rather short second-year wielding a goblet of pumpkin juice. Before Jack could make proper sense of what was happening, the goblet struck the back of Rafa's neck hard, causing the taller Gryffindor to fall forward and his fist to only half-way hit its mark. Rafa took a minute to steady himself against the table while apparently trying to determine what had just hit him. Both Rafa and Jack seemed to become aware of Ruka's new role in the conflict at the very same moment.

No. No, no, no, no nononono! Jack's one solace in this whole fiasco was that Ruka had not been involved, but now that had been shattered. No longer did Jack care if he was seen as the victim or the bully; all that mattered to the Slytherin was that Ruka be left alone. Pushing himself up with the support of the table, he reached into his robes and pulled out something flat and rectangular - a plain-looking envelope.

"CUT IT OUT, D'SPACITO!" Jack roared with a rare ferocity. He didn't usually resort to raising his voice, but as he could hardly stand jus then, he didn't see much more of an option to try to break up the fight other than drawing attention with his volume and forceful words. He held up the envelope as if it were his wand itself; no, more like a grenade.

"Listen up; you too, Morgan! Your quarrels are with me, no one else." He glared viciously at Rafa. "Bird-brain, if you don't step away from Tân right now, I'm going to open this envelope and I highly doubt you'll appreciate the result. It's not something you can run from, either, since the effects are instantaenous and cover a more broad range than you might imagine."

Jack tried to ease his way over to the boys that had taken their tussle to the Great Hall's floor, hoping Ruka would take the hint and separate himself from the larger first-year.

"You heard Morgan," the Slytherin snarled at Rafa. "You gonna leave with her, or have you not had enough yet?"

@Jack Burnett @Rafael D'Spacito @Jo Morgan

As Ruka eyed the goblet in his hand for a second he realised that he wasn't completely sure what he wanted to achieve by attacking this beast of a boy beyond getting his ruthless attention off Jack. There was no further plan, no trick he could pull out of his sleeve; All he'd known at the point of attack was that he would have clawed this boy's eyes out with nothing but his stubby nails if it had meant getting Jack away from this merciless physical assault.

The urge to attack the other Gryffindor boy had burned in his chest like a raging fire, but now that it was done and he could see the other boy taking a second to take in what had just happened, he realised that he probably should have thought his plan through beyond the initial attack. 

It was too late now, however, because the next thing he knew his feet were pulled from under him and his back hit the cold hard floor with a sickening thump as the Gryffindor boy tackled him to the ground with an anger that seemed like it had only intensified with the goblet that had slammed into the back of his head only moments before.

"Urgh," Ruka groaned as he had gathered his senses enough to keep up with what had just happened. Blinking a couple of tears away that had formed at the initial pain of slamming against the hard ground beneath him, Ruka stared up at his attacker, green eyes slowly kindling a flame that soon burned with almost as much rage as the other Gryffindor carried in his own. "Come on, then," he taunted the boy above him, his own hands falling uselessly to the floor as he released the goblet which rolled away from him with a screeching clang of metal on stone. "Beating up someone half your size is really going to prove some of that Gryffindor Bravery. You'll be the most courageous lion of them all." He smirked mischievously, mustering as much of a shrug as he could in his position as he waited for whatever kind of blow would surely follow a taunt like this one.

To his surprise, he found that he barely cared for the pain of any sort of physical impact. He'd lived through more pain than a simple beating and survived just fine, so no matter how tall and muscly this boy was, what could he really do to him that his upbringing hadn't already put him through?

And, anyway, he preferred being the target of such attacks to be himself rather than Jack. 

His attention got a little sidetracked by the girl's voice, a taunt of her own in her voice as she addressed Ruka to mock him for thinking Jack actually cared about him. He barely let the words reach his brain before shaking them off, listening instead to the words she seemed to direct Jack's way, about kissing someone and humiliating her.

It made Ruka suppress a cold laugh in his chest; This was what this attack was about? Some sort of retaliation? Was it really a Gryffindor value to hold a grudge for past actions just to wait for the right - unexpected - moment to get revenge through physical violence?
Ruka didn't care much for what Jack had seemingly done to make these two kids think he deserved their wrath, he simply found himself disappointed with his housemates' thirst for blood, and slightly worried for his Slytherin companion's knack for making enemies out of the wrong people.

Before he could ponder anything for too long, however, Jack's voice roared through the chaos louder than Ruka had heard it thus far, filled with something so strongly contradicting the calm composure he usually possessed.

A pang of guilt shot through Ruka as he realised that Jack most likely wouldn't have lost his cool like this - no matter how temporarily - if he hadn't put himself into the middle of everything.

He squirmed lightly under the other Gryffindor, looking back up into the anger filled face above him just as Jack threatened bird-brain with opening an envelope, and even though he couldn't see the Slytherin from his position on the ground, his view blocked by his attacker's head, he understood almost immediately what envelope Jack was talking about.

With a little groan, Ruka turned his head to see Jack moving towards where he and the other Gryffindor were placed on the floor, and the Fire Dancer gave the Slytherin a small nod to show that he understood what he was supposed to do; He didn't know exactly what it was that the card in Jack's hands would do once opened, but he was aware that he would suffer the effects just the same should he not get himself out of harm's way.

Using the fact that he was smaller in every aspect than bird-brain, Ruka slipped out of the sleeves of his cloak with practiced ease - living on the streets meant abandoning stolen goods, even clothes, at a moment's notice - and  rolled out from under the other boy's body. He sat up the second he could and quickly crawled backwards until he found himself sitting by Jack's legs. His left hand was clutching his wand - the one thing he had thought of snatching from his cloak before abandoning it under the other Gryffindor's body - and he pointed it in the rough direction of the two attackers, the same way Jack was pointing his envelope their way.

Even sitting on the ground like this, Ruka was ready to cast a spell - any spell - on either of them should they decide to continue their attack despite the girl's suggestion of leaving. Still, he was hopeful that he wouldn't have to.

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Interacting With: @Jo Morgan @Jack Burnett @Ruka Tân
Mentioning: N/A

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[font=Segoe Print]“Rafa, are you ready to leave or should I go without you?"

Jo was a smart girl, but her common sense seemed to desert her from time to time. It was more than evident that Rafa was far from relenting in his attack – his eyes narrowed, teeth gritted in anger, he jutted his chin upwards, as if acknowledging her statement. She needed extra clarification, he’d be happy to offer it to her. “I’m not done here,” he growled in response, gaze focused on the target of his wrath as his hands dug into the skin of the boy beneath him in malice. The both of the damned snakes would surely understand the danger that was screwing around with Rafael D’Spacito, he’d make sure of it. If Jo wanted to call quits, that was her decision, but he wasn’t the sort to throw in the towel, not when he was on the verge of a breakthrough. “Just go without me.” It would be all the attention he would further dedicate to her, before curling his hand into a fist once more, watching as it sunk into the face of the disgraced Gryffindor. He would pay no mind to Ruka’s words against him, nor would he mind Jack’s warning, his attention trained on one thing, and one thing only – sweet, liberating
revenge.

His endeavors would be cut short, much to his surprise – it would come as a shock to him, seeing Ruka escape from his iron clutches, as he hadn’t been distracted in the least, nor had he even looked up for a mere moment in the hopes of properly heeding Jack’s warning. But that was now irrelevant. The Gryffindor had slipped out of his grasp, leaving something twisting in the back of his mind, his tight fists shaking and gaze hardened, enough to cause a small plant to wither and die. The voice of Jack Burnett resounded through his ears like a siren, leaving him shaking in rage, his nostrils flaring and face hot in anger, his actions more prone to impulse, stupid decisions, the monster stirring within his chest. "You heard Morgan. You gonna leave with her, or have you not had enough yet?" No, goddamn it, he hadn’t. On the contrary, he was only getting started. And with no one to stop him, he would make quick work of the two.

He wanted blood.

His answer would come in the form of a growl, his feet echoing on the steps of the floor as he made his way up to his greatest nemesis. His hand would swing outward, aiming right for the jaw of the Slytherin – [/font]

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OOC • Apologies for the wait and shitty post. Hope this suffices as a pick-up~/i]

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@Rafael D'Spacito @Jack Burnett @Ruka Tân

"Listen up; you too, Morgan! Your quarrels are with me, no one else. Bird-brain, if you don't step away from Tân right now, I'm going to open this envelope and I highly doubt you'll appreciate the result. It's not something you can run from, either, since the effects are instantaenous and cover a more broad range than you might imagine."

"Tell that to your little sweetheart!" Jo hissed, eyes narrowed and sparkling with a dangerous gleam. "Have you even been paying attention? Our fight was with you, until dumbass over there decided to attack Rafa." Of course the boy hadn't been paying attention - he couldn't even address Jo without inciting her wrath with that dreadful nickname. Resisting the urge to spit on the floor like a total badass (only because it would make her an unsanitary badass), she leaned casually against a table, watching as the snake pulled out an envelope. Ah. So that was the trick Burnett had up his sleeve. That must have been the reason he let Rafa and her attack him, then. A trap. Jo ought to have known. She really, really ought to have known, but she was angry. And she was still angry now. The contents of the mysterious little envelope couldn't be too dangerous, could they? After all, Jack had said the effects covered a broad range, and they were in the Great Hall, after all.

Bird-brain. Jack had called Rafa bird-brain. Jo felt even more anger well up inside her. Bird-brain. That's what I call him, she thought. How dare he? Only I get to call him that.

"You're threatening us with a piece of paper?" Jo laughed - a high pitched, shrill forced laugh, the one she reserved for the things she hated the most. Jack Burnett had gotten himself a very well-earned place on that list, and his Gryffindor darling was soon to follow should he dare to attack Rafa again. "What is it, a Howler from your mom?"

"I’m not done here. Just go without me.”

Aaaaaand Rafa was attacking. Again. Sigh. She was stupid to think he would have left with her. Perhaps Rafa was the kind of boy who never got bored or tired of fighting. Even better, then. He could swing fists for the both of them.

"Fine." She bit her lip. "Ride or die... or whatever it's called. Just tell me when you need me to kick some snake ass."

And with that Jo drew her wand, ready to pounce on either of her prey should they dare to cross her again.