Secret Blossom Ball Event Finished

Interacting with @Jack Burnett @Marion Davenport
Mentioning @Nico Shymane @Flash Holmwood @Willow Anderson @Opeila Seilun

With a sigh of relief, Ruka could see Jack resurfacing, snapped out of whatever trance he had just found himself in. That was something at least, it meant the Gryffindor didn't need to worry that much anymore about his Slytherin counterpart brainlessly throwing himself into a dangerous situation without any possibilities of positive outcomes.

That's what he assumed at least.

With a hand on the heavy bag, Ruka allowed himself to take his eyes off Jack for a moment, focusing all his concentration on lifting it but to no avail. No matter how he pulled and dragged, the thing wouldn't move an inch, far too heavy for his mediocre strength. "Shit," he muttered just as the Slytherin prefect who'd already offered to take Victor back to the castle caught up to them to offer her help with the bag.

That, Ruka could appreciate, and he was going to say as much, but before he could his attention was drawn to the girl who had spilled her drink on Lestrange. Her hand reaching for the bag made Ruka let go of it himself, an almost shocked expression on his face. "I was gonna bring it back to him!" he protested loudly, but before he could continue saying anything more to make her see that he hadn't been trying to steal the bag for his own purposes like so many other people had seemed to do already, Jack had taken over, showing his renewed focus with a well of words that made Ruka's head swim.

Still holding onto the Slytherin's wrist, Ruka simply nodded his agreement, but he didn't try to take the bag again, knowing he probably wasn't able to drag it either way, and hadn't this girl been with Victor anyway? She'd certainly been in useless hysterics over his lifeless body earlier on, so what bad could it do to just leave the bag to her?

Jack's request for Nico's help was only met with another nod of approval from Ruka; It didn't much matter to him anymore at this point whether the bag was kept by the blonde girl who was likely to keep it safe too, or Nico who would hopefully just return it to its owner back at the castle. His only remaining mission was to get himself and Jack out of there and to safety before those overgrown wasps were able to focus their attention on either of them, or any out of control students could possibly - accidentally or not - cast a damaging spell their way.

However, it seemed that his longing for a strategic retreat was not matched by Jack, because the other boy's focus had fallen onto something else. As if only just realising his surroundings, the Slytherin had directed his attention towards the small group consisting of Flash, Willow and Opeila. All of them seemed in a relatively bad state and still under attack by one of those insects, but Ruka couldn't bring up much sympathy. They had all had their chance to leave but had decided to involve themselves in unnecessary drama they surely didn't belong in, so now they simply had to deal with the consequences. Either way, there were plenty of teachers around by now, so eventually they would be saved and taken back to the Infirmary to get fixed up again.

Jack, it seemed, was not under the same impression as he turned to Ruka to let him know that he needed to go back for his property, indicating Flash with a nod that made the Gryffindor's stomach churn painfully. "No," he said pleadingly, eyes wide, expression frantic. No danger, Jack had said but from where Ruka stood he wanted to argue that this massive insect with giant stingers seemed like danger to him, and what exactly was Jack going to do if it would attack him despite the fire? Who was going to be there for him to rely on should he get stung?

"No, Jack, please, come on, let the teachers handle it." But his pleading met deaf ears as Jack already started to move in the direction of the small group he'd indicated before. Not wanting to force Jack to remain next to him, Ruka let go of his wrist, blinking back the sting of tears behind his eyelids. "No," he begged again, but he doubted Jack was still paying him enough attention to hear. "They got themselves into that mess, let them learn their lesson!" he yelled after the Slytherin.

For a second he was tempted to follow, to make sure whatever Jack was doing wouldn't result in any more harm to his person, but something was keeping him rooted to the spot. His efforts weren't enough, no matter what he did, were they? He'd thrown himself into a fight to keep Jack save, had abandoned his own survival instinct to use up his burn healing resources on a boy he didn't even know, had stuck around this god forsaken ball to make sure he could help Jack in any way he possibly could, but it just wasn't enough, was it?

All he'd wanted was to get Jack to safety, to walk him back to the Great Hall to check up on the burnt boy as well as getting Jack himself some medical care, but it didn't really matter what he wanted, did it? It wasn't important, other things deserved more attention, like Flash for example, who had had every opportunity to get himself out of there but had stupidly returned to protect Willow against forces he quite obviously wasn't properly equipped for.

Clearly, Flash's brainless need to be a hero was more important than Ruka's concern for Jack's well being.

Go then, he thought bitterly as he watched Jack throwing himself into that situation, waving the torch he'd gotten from none other than Ruka himself to protect a group of people Ruka had no particular care for. Get your property. Let that beast sting you a million times for it. See if I care.

He could feel the sting of tears returning to his eyes and he lifted his burn healing paste-caked hands to angrily wipe them away, a heavy breath rattling his ribcage.

It took a moment for the feeling to return to his body, but when it did he turned around, away from the scene that made him want to scream and cry and rip his hair from his scalp. As with most social situations, Ruka felt regret flooding his system. Regret for having come here in the first place, regret for having stuck around after things had started going downhill, regret for letting his concern and loyalty overwhelm his instinctive need to survive this much.

There was no logical reason for him to stay anymore. Jack had picked his priority and whatever the result of that was, it wasn't supposed to be Ruka's concern or responsibility. The teachers were going to take care of it, and hopefully stick all the remaining idiots on the pitch in eternal detention.

Ignoring anything else going on around him, Ruka started a quick and angry pace towards the exit of the pitch, hands pressed against his ears as if to make sure he wouldn't get pulled back in by someone calling for him or the sound of a familiar voice in distress.

He'd done more than enough, it was time to leave.

If successful in exiting the pitch without any interruptions, Ruka would finally give in to the angry tears wrecking his body, letting them flood his cheeks as he made his way back to the castle. Disregarding the teacher's request for everyone to go to the Great Hall, Ruka would make his way to the Gryffindor common room instead. He hadn't taken any physical injuries, hadn't bruised much more than his far too sensitive ego, so what was the point in joining everyone else in the Great Hall?

There was nothing and nobody for him to check up on.

Sleep was the only thing he could hear calling for him at this point.

|Action|
Being an oversensitive baby Free Action
Leaving Thread

Reducio

Stats
Stamina: 7 ~ Evasion: 8 ~ Strength: 4 ~ Wisdom: 8 ~ Arcane Power: 6 ~ Accuracy: 7

Abilities
The Muggle Condition
Advanced Casting

Outfit Reference
Top

Reducio

Jeans

Reducio

Shoes

Reducio

»»————————-　♔　————————-««
mentions @Anastasia Beckett, Mosp 16, all
word count 635 | text colour #274E13
abilities terrible presence | status open for help
»»————————-　♔　————————-««

Much to Astrea's eternal despair, the moment that the incantation left her lips, her wand went flying out of her hands and high out of reach from where she lay half-propped up upon the floor. She near snarled in annoyance as her eyes followed the arc of the cherry instrument, flung into the air with an almost graceful sense of motion, only to clatter to a stop upon tablecloth just as harshly as its owner had been only a few seconds before.

Tablecloth. Table. Flowers. An icy wash of dread fell upon Astrea as she took in her predicament for the half-second that it happened, unknowing of the awful fate of her companion that she had been previously attempted to shield- A looming mosp hung itself above the table, it's horribly bulbous body waving its freakishly long proboscis into the floral ornament that decorated the exact table that her wand landed upon, seemingly preoccupied with filling some sort of insectoid instinct that was lost to her. There was no way it was moving. There was no way Astrea was to retrieve her wand without approaching.

God damn it.

Fight or flight. The intelligent decision was to drop everything and flee. The intelligent thing was to wait to retrieve her wand at a better time when she wasn't in harm's direct way. But as intelligent as Astrea was, as much as her brain spat out scenarios like a computer to code, she spent too much time worrying about the future. She would not- could not- part with her wand over a big-brained rakefire of an ambusher. Her jaw ached from the prolonged tension, her entire frame taut with sinking acceptance that clashed with the screaming denial inside of her as she slowly crawled her way up to a crouch. Something must be done.

Grey eyes turned silvery bright with animalistic survival instinct flickered around wildly as she attempted to glean some sort of grasp upon her seemingly hopeless predicament, a single roaming glance telling her wordlessly that she was alone in this. Anastasia was upon the floor, crumpled and unconsious- if she had done something else perhaps it would have not been the case- and chaos reigned supreme. All were distracted, it seemed. She would have to do it alone.

With a withering glare at the back of the distracted mosp, Astrea slowly unsheathed her dagger from where it was strapped upon her through, the hilt of it cold and secure as it exchanged weight from the now empty black holster upon her thigh to her left hand. She had hoped that she wouldn't have had to use the thing- wouldn't even have to reveal it from under her skirts- but it seemed that her bout of careful paranoia had been well-founded. As for her skill- she was weak physically but quick bodied. It was better to approach armed than not so.

Her wand was her only chance.

With all the caution of approaching a dangerous beast- and this was what it was wasn't it? She was marching to guaranteed and imminent death with foolishness that could match a lion's- she crept forward carefully, her pace curving to the side as she tried to stay away from the bug's field of vision as it buzzed falsely placid.

If her sneaking around was successful and the mosp doesn't notice her coming up behind it, she would attempt to snatch her wand back from the table and jump away from the point-blank line of fire.

Regardless of whatever is to happen, it was very effin clear if you stole a glance in her direction that she was in a sticky situation, trying her very best to take back her most precious weapon from where it had deposited itself without getting ambushed at an arm's length distance.

What luck.

Action: Trying to sneak past Mosp #16 to get her wand.
TLDR: Despair is in the air. Astrea's wand gets tossed into the danger zone and she risks it all to retrieve the instrument, unsheathing her thigh dagger and readying for the worst as she creeps forward into Mosp #16's personal space.

Interacting with @Ruka Tân, @Jack Burnett, @Marion Davenport and @Vladimir Athanatos

Ability : Lovely Creature

Stats:
Stamina: 10 | Evasion: 8 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 6 | ArcPower: 2 | Accuracy: 6

To her delight and relief, both Jack and Ruka seemed to not mind at all. A strong sense in her heart felt reassured that they'd like her to help them out carrying the bag. Nico wasn't sure what was in it, but by the way Ruka had tried to drag it with him, it must be important. To him or to someone else. With a warm smile yet worried frown, she'd land on the floor, grabbing hold of the bag.

The prefect had only been paying attention to these few students since she knew them and they were actively struggeling. Nico just wanted them to be safe and rather unharmed before things would escalate even more. She couldn't help all of them, she knew that much. And with the Professors arriving, things would soon settle down. What would come after this? She wasn't sure and didn't worry about that. For now.

If Vladimir attempted to pick up Victors bag:

A vaguely familiar figure walked up to them, grabbing hold of Victors back. Where did she see him again? There was something off about him. Unsetteling. Not right. With the only light coming off from the remaining flames and small lights, the dhampir couldn't completely see who he was. But if he was thinking of walking away with Victors back, he had another thing coming.
'There's no need for you to carry this with you. I'm flying over to the Castle with this bag. It'll be faster and more efficient that way.' She'd glare at him. A faint red dot flickering in her ice blue eyes. Hoping it would leave a certain impression on him, maybe slightly intimidated as she'd (if succesfull) picks up the bag, her arm holding it against her like an infant, resting on the shaft of the broom.

If Marion is the one attempting to pick up Vic's bag:

A blonde girl stormed over to them. She looked awful. Burned, make-up runny. The dhampir watched her with a surprised look. Even this girl seemed familiar to her but all Nico wanted to accomplish right now, was to carry this fricking bag to the Castle. The tone in Marions voice was one Nico didn't like. So this was Victors bag after all. More the reason for the prefect to bring it with her. She was going the same way as him anyway. Before Nico would say anything, Jack was already on the case. Telling Marion to back down and leave it up to the Prefect. A sense of responsibility increased in her, making her straighten her back a little bit more, her chin slightly up as she watched Marion.
She didn't seem in the right state of mind right now. Hysterical. Afraid and overwhelmed. Luckily for Nico, the dhampir hadn't experienced the worst at this ball this time. 'Marion, I'll bring it to Victor. The Professor enchanted him to walk him to the Great Hall. I'm going there aswell. It might take alot longer if you have to carry this all the way back to the Castle. I'll make sure he gets his bag. I assure you that. We all want Victor to be safe. Why else would we go to these lengths to do this, hm?' It reminded her of what a bad shape Victor was in. The burns and his weak, ever so weak breathing. There was still hope, but they'd have to act fast. She'd glare at her. A faint red dot flickering in her ice blue eyes. Hoping it would leave a certain impression on her, maybe slightly intimidated as she'd (if succesfull) picks up the bag, her arm holding it against her like an infant, resting on the shaft of the broom.

For a moment it seemed both Ruka and Jack, were going to straight up leave the Pitch, but Jack thought differently. He wanted to be a hero for a little bit longer. Together with Ruka, she watched him run off. The pleads, the sorrowful pleads of Ruka, didn't reach his ears, or they weren't enough to convince him to stay. The prefect wanted to ask the Gryffindor if he'd join her back to the castle, but she also sensed he probably wanted to be alone for now. It broke her heart. That desperateness in his voice, she recognised it. Ruka stormed off to a different direction, obviously very upset. For a second, she wanted to follow him... but she needed to bring this bag to the castle. To Victor. That was her plan.

Action : Attempts to pick up Vics bag to place it on her broom, holding it against her.

@Jack Burnett, @Flash Holmwood, @Willow Anderson, @Opeila Seilun, @Percival Gray, @Artemis Vernatis

As her serpent's jaws closed around the insect, she felt a white-hot pain through its mouth, and winced a little in empathy, but the mosp was well and truly dead by the time it started making its way down the snake's gullet. She reached out to the snake's pseudo-mind, soothing it from the pain of the wound - they weren't done yet. She'd have to heal her poor weapon if they kept this up, which she could do... unless she could find a second to back her up. Just like the strategy she'd used way back with Ms. KK.

Footsteps tapped against the ground, running past her and toward where the snake's head had risen to swallow its most recent meal, and she rushed behind him - Vernatis, if she identified those shoes correctly. She stopped when he stopped, a little ways behind him as she heard his muttered incantation. "You okay, kid?" Cy asked, not knowing exactly who they were until he muttered a curse, and recognition flickered at the edge of her mind.

She intended to help him up, but before she could, someone else's plea for help made her whip up and dash towards another group in danger, shoes colliding lightly with the charred grass as her snake followed along languidly, scales sliding smoothly against the ground. That was Jack Burnett's voice, but the one in danger wasn't him - it was Flash Holmwood, and the two girls Opeila and Willow, if she was matching first names to last names correctly. Flash was the one she was more familiar with - a very enthusiastic student, and not too irresponsible either, at least around lab safety, however low that bar was compared to her own school days. But no amount of lab safety was going to keep them away from this threat.

The little seed at the edge of her mind twitched, and she turned her attention back towards her snake as its tongue flickered out, tasting the air. And there - she could scent it, the angry mosp buzzing above the group, the metallic tang of an already-inflicted wound on one of the students... that was Flash, wasn't it? She couldn't quite tell, their scents were not enough for that, but it was certainly enough for her to pull at her serpent's attention, one hand up by her side, and set its sights on another target.

The snake reared as she tugged, zoning in on the belligerent insect, and again struck at the new target, jaws open wide. The negligible wound from before wasn't enough to deter it from a second meal, and its slitted eyes flashed with the unmistakable flaring hunger of a creature born from fire. "Go get 'em."

action • make giant snek chomp down mosp #11

stats • 7 stam • 12 eva • 4 str • 20 wis • 13 arc • 14 acc

abilities • perfectionist i • perfectionist ii • spell spread • blindvision • nonverbal magic • wandless magic

Interacting with @Flash Holmwood @Janet Jackson
Mentioning @Opeila Seilun @Jack Burnett

Even though the smoke was gone from the pitch, everything still felt incredibly foggy. Maybe from the blood loss, maybe from the amount of chaos that was clogging up her mind and making it impossible to think. All she knew, is that if they didn't get help soon that they would be goners. Not only was Willow stung, but Flash had joined the club with stings to his wand arm. "Flash, we need to get out of here." It was an obvious statement, one that didn't necessarily need to be said between them. But Willow's mind wasn't doing much filtering at this point, whatever she thought was making its way out of her mouth.

The form of help first came in the form of a girl she remembered from the first half of the year. Janet. She had helped Willow while she screamed into the void of the Great Lake. Doing a full run at this bug to punch it in the face. Just like Flash had tried to tackle it. Why weren't they keeping their distance from the thing? Especially with stingers as large as it had. Once again Willow tried to stand up to stop her, but failed with a scream of her name that was exaggerated by he pain. "Janet no!" Quickly she fell, back letting out a grunt of frustration. "This stupid leg won't let me do anything!"

If Janet Kills the Mosp
Willow would pathetically struggle to get up onto Flash's back to escape. Laying her head on his shoulder if she were to be successful in climbing up. Whispering in a barely audible voice, "I'm so tired Flash..." Her eyes would start to drift closed, unable to stay conscious for much longe.

If Janet Doesn't Kill the Mosp
With Flash's encouragement, Willow raised her wand once more. "Incendio!" Her voice didn't have as much power as it did at the start of all of this. But she was trying he best to concentrate her power to take this stupid bug down.

A second form of help came in Jack, which wasn't something she was expecting. But this guy bought continual surprises. But he was literally throwing himself in front of them to protect against the bug. She couldn't help but let out a snarky remark, again no filter. "Can't move. So I'll gladly stay here." Whether that was from the back of Flash, or still sat on the ground her comment would remain the same.

Action || If mosp #11 isn't dead, cast incendio. If mosp #11 is dead, attempt to climb onto Flash's back
Stats || Stamina: 6 / Evasion: 5 / Strength: 4 / Wisdom: 8 / ArcPower: 6 / Accuracy: 7

Edited to add action and stats.

It pained Thora to not be helping. All around her, students were attacking mosps, getting to safety, protecting others--basically being useful in one way or another. Brooms were rising, some with two passengers, and the Slytherin was quite honestly glad that people were getting out. This was no place for anyone, magically capable or not, and whether professor or student. Nobody deserved to be stabbed and poisoned by vampyr mosps. But as for Thora? She'd been standing there, making no action and being a pathetically useless snek. Well, it was time to change that.

She wanted to ensure everyone's safety--or, at least those she cared about in the slightest. Confusion and annoyance at the difficult situation twisted into an unfamiliar anger that boiled up within her, threatening to break free of the crumbling walls of control. So many people had been injured around her. So many had been valiantly duelling, whether by magical or physical power, the mosps, only to get repaid by a sting. There was so much pain here. Too much.

Seeing all the destruction housed by the Quidditch Pitch, which previously had been a place she'd loved, added desperation to the mix, until everything compelled her to do something, anything to help. Maybe she wouldn't be able to save everyone--or anyone--or singlehandedly kill a mosp, but at this point, any single action would propel the situation faster to its end. After all, everything had to be over sometime… right? Even though Thora couldn't promise herself anything, she could certainly hope.

There couldn't just be one hero, and the brunette knew that. To her, it wasn't a difficult concept to grasp, and Quidditch had only further enforced the idea. She couldn't stand alone, so she would have to move and find allies. Technically, she'd arrived with a plan, but it'd all quickly crumbled to nothing. Thora knew full well who she needed to find, but to locate them in this mess would prove a problem.

Then, noticing a small cluster of students targetted by a mosp [11], Thora's eyes widened as she watched the creature strike through glazing eyes. This was happening all around her, so why hadn't she done something yet? Breaking into a run, she wove around people and skidded to a stop not far from the group, where she could now see Opeila too. A few of them were Slytherin. Slytherin first years. Though she had no doubt that they were perfectly capable of holding their own, Thora'd agreed to help them from the beginning, and they were from the same house, after all.

"Flipendo!" she cried, flicking her wand at the mosp.

Interacting with @May Moonstar, @Lydia Cooper, @Kateri Karr

Aaron was furious with May, and he didn't care that Lydia was defending her actions. Her spellcasting was worse than Aaron's, and the only thing she was contributing was panic. Lydia wasn't going to die! Why was she saying such things!

"May, shut up!" Aaron demanded, not wanting to hear anymore of her hysterics. Maybe his frustrations at the ball going wrong were all being taken out on her, but her willy nilly casting certainly hadn't helped. He was about to continue, but suddenly a professor appeared. The new Astronomy professor. Thank goodness. She could help Lydia! And that's exactly what she did, casting a healing spell on the girl and instructing them all to leave to the- Great Hall? Why not the Hospital Wing? Well, now was not the time to dwell on details, but-

"But- Professor, it is my fault. We organized this and now everything is in chaos! We- There was an emergency plan, we told everyone about it! But it's like they forgot and now these giant bugs are stinging everyone. I-"

Aaron's eyes widened as Lydia confessed her involvement in organizing the ball. It was clear she hadn't meant to, but that wasn't how things were supposed to go. Aaron didn't know what to do, aside from help her to her feet. It seemed she was finally seeing sense and wanted to go back to the castle. May agreed to escort her, and Aaron would've followed, but he turned back to the professor instead.

"Lydia's right, we-" Aaron hesitated, knowing that by continuing he was giving himself up as well. Lydia had already told the professor that she was involved, though, and he wasn't going to let her go down alone. "We broke into the broom shed- but ONLY so that if something went bad, everyone could escape. Professor, I'll leave just as soon as I pass out some of the brooms, I promise," he said, then turning immediately on his heel and rushing after the two girls towards the exit.

"Lydia, I'll be right behind you!" he called out. While the two girls left the ball entirely, Aaron found himself by the brooms and grabbed as many as he could carry. He had rushed away from Professor Karr in fear of reprimanding, wanting the opportunity to help. He knew exactly what Lydia meant about going down with the ship, but he wasn't hurt. He had miraculously escaped all injury, unlike some of his fellow organizers. Speaking of, he hoped Atlas got out by now, and that Sean and Pericles were okay up in the stands. He had no idea what Opeila was up to.

Action: Grabbing a bunch of school brooms to pass out among the crowd

Starter | Mod One | Mod Two | Mod Three | Mod Four | Mod Five | Mod Six | Mod Seven | Conclusion

This is a Moderation Post

Winding Down

With the fire and the smoke gone, the only real chaos came from the numerous mosps infesting the pitch and the enormous snake that had been transfigured. Things between the students themselves seemed to be calming down. @Vladimir Athanatos took this momentary lapse of action to retrieve his bag, which was only missing a trio of dolls and a single softball-sized vial. The third year found his way over to Professor @Artemis Vernatis, who had just finished helping @Percival Gray with his wounds and instructed @Vincent d'Arque to escort him back to the castle. With the Charms professor's full attention on him, Vladimir explained his predicament - complaining of the students that had attacked him and his friends.

"....the fact that we saw anything was supposed to be a secret! They set my friend on fire, beat up my other good friend, robbed us...."

But Vlad's words seemed to confuse the man more than anything. Professor Vernatis demanded to know the secret that was being mentioned, and the names and motivation behind the students that had attacked him.

@Marion Davenport was still slightly hysterical as she went over to retrieve @Victor Moore's bag. @Ruka Tân relinquished his hold on the bag in favor of leaving the pitch entirely, and @Dealla Prince had already left to chase after Victor's enchanted body. This left @Nico Shymane on her broom, attempting to take the bag with her to the castle. In the minor struggle for possession, the young Dhampir came out on top. The bag was pulled to her chest as she maintained her balance on her broom.

"Marion, I'll bring it to Victor. The Professor enchanted him to walk him to the Great Hall. I'm going there aswell. It might take alot longer if you have to carry this all the way back to the Castle. I'll make sure he gets his bag. I assure you that. We all want Victor to be safe. Why else would we go to these lengths to do this, hm?" the redhead explained to Marion. The blonde had not gone running to a teacher yet, because she didn't have the bag.

In a different area of the pitch, a panicked boy @Aaron Jones was worried for his best friend @Lydia Cooper, who had just been stung by a mosp. @May Moonstar got to her first, attempting to aid the blue-haired girl, but also calling out to Professor @Kateri Karr when she got the chance. The professor came running, successfully casting a healing spell at the young girl's bleeding leg wound. The blood stopped pouring and Lydia's pain would go away as she regained 100 health. As the child got to her feet, she confessed her involvement in the organization of the ball. This confession was followed by that of Aaron, who wasn't going to let his friend go down alone. They were instructed by the professor to go to the Great Hall - not the Hospital Wing - and that's exactly what May and Lydia did. Aaron, meanwhile, would use his action to gather brooms from the entrance of the pitch.

@Anastasia Beckett had finally passed out from her injuries, so @Ivy Bellamy - the girl's doppelganger - decided to take it upon herself to try and transport her from the pitch. However, as she tried to get Anastasia to her feet, she found that it was too much for her little first year body to support. Anastasia was harshly dropped, taking another 50 damage as her burned body collapsed back onto the pitch.

@Bridget Collins and @Santario Martin - both safely mounted on a broom together - made a quick and easy escape from the pitch, rocketing towards the castle in search of help.

Nico Strength Roll: 13 vs Marion Strength Roll: 3
Kateri Wisdom Roll: 34 (to cast reparifors)
Ivy Strength Check: 6 (natural 1)

@Dealla Prince, @Ruka Tân, @Bridget Collins, @Santario Martin, @Lydia Cooper, @May Moonstar successfully exit the ball

The Swarm

Seventh mosp

@Lizzie Verdine once again grabbed a chair and swung it at the mosp. This time she connected, and dealt the mosp 70 damage. @Crystal Jagger tried to cast at the mosp, but her aim was astray and very narrowly missed hitting Lizzie herself. As the two girls were sorting themselves out, though, the mosp had seemingly lost its aggression as it took notice of the rest of the pitch.

Lizzie Accuracy Roll: 23 vs Mosp Evasion Roll: 18
Crystal Accuracy Roll: 8 (natural 1) vs Mosp Evasion Roll: 15
Crystal Accuracy Roll: 10 vs Lizzie Evasion Roll: 12

Ninth mosp

@May Moonstar had aimed her wand at the mosp again (before she left the ball), attempting to blind it with a green sparks charm. Her successful cast disoriented the mosp enough to fall victim to @Rafael D'Spacito. The boy was enraged, and he launched himself at the mosp that had caused his date to scream. The weight of his body tackled the mosp to the ground, and he used all his strength to tear the wings from the creature. The creature was dealt 100 damage from the traumatic injury, and it died.

May Accuracy Roll: 11 vs Mosp Evasion Roll: 8
Rafael Accuracy Roll: 20 vs Mosp Evasion Roll: 18
Rafael Strength Check: 28 (to tear out wings)

Eleventh mosp

@Jack Burnett appeared at the side of @Flash Holmwood and @Willow Anderson, waving his torch to ward off the mosp. Not the smoke, but the fire seemed to deter the mosp and send it reeling back, straight into @Janet Jackson. The girl had come running onto the dance floor with her fist raised, and she launched herself at the mosp. Her punch successfully landed, sending the creature rocketing to the floor with surprising strength. It clung to life after taking another 250 damage from the surprisingly strong first year.

A spell was cast by @Thora Larkston, but it unfortunately missed the mosp target. Luckily for them all, though, the enormous snake made an appearance on the dance floor. It struck fast, enveloping the mosp in its mouth and crunching down on it. The mosp's stinger struck the inside of the snake's mouth, dealing it 92 damage, but it was nothing compared to the 207 damage the mosp took as it died and was swallowed. Flash now took the opportunity to heft Willow onto his back, free at last from the mosp that had terrorized them for so long.

Meanwhile, @Opeila Seilun was still on the ground nearby after being knocked back by Marion. She was panicking about the ball, and was still trying to recover her strength.

Janet Accuracy Roll: 25 vs Mosp Evasion Roll: 11
Thora Accuracy Roll: 14 vs Mosp Evasion Roll: 20
Snake Accuracy Roll: 16 vs Mosp Evasion Roll: 4

Twelfth mosp

This mosp was in the middle of attacking @Katrina Walker, but a boy called @Adonis Thorn approached and aimed his wand. He successfully hit the mosp with a blindfolding spell, conjuring the cloth that would now make the mosp blind. Katrina herself had grabbed a chair, but her throw wasn't enough and it fell to the ground disappointingly. Initially agitated by its blindfolded predicament, the mosp flew up in circles, trying to shake the blindfold free of its head and eventually succeeding. Rather than dive back down to attack the boy that had cast, though, the mosp continued to go up in the air, soon joined by a few other mosps.

Adonis Accuracy Roll: 26 vs Mosp Evasion Roll: 7
Katrina Accuracy Roll: 13 vs Mosp Evasion Roll: 21

Sixteenth mosp

@Astrea Soleil Neptune took every precaution to retrieve her wand from the purple mosp's table. The mosp took notice of her, watching closely as the girl approached with knife in hand. It rose up slightly, avoiding being too close to Astrea. It was poised to attack if it was bothered, but she merely took the cherry wood from the table. As she stepped away, the mosp was about to resume its activities of messing with the flowers, but it seemed to notice something. Its proboscis flailed in the open air before it launched up higher.

Twenty-third mosp

From below, a comb was thrown at this mosp in an attempt to distract it. Despite the comb colliding with the creature, it did not turn its aggression on @Alexis Asterion. It didn't even turn back to attack @River Dewlight again. Instead, the mosp's proboscis flailed in the air, sensing the distress of its comrades and it began to fly higher.

Alexis Accuracy Roll: 24 vs Mosp Evasion Roll: 6

All Mosps Still Alive (7, 8, 12, 15, 16, 23)

At this point, the mosps were syncing with each other. They sensed defeat, especially with the sight of another comrade being swallowed by the giant white snake. In a hive state of mind, the mosps all rose together and fled. They were done with their chaos, determined to live another day. They had lost several comrades in the battle for the flowers, and the brief joy of the floral scents was not worth losing more. They headed back across the grounds, towards the Forbidden Forest which they had come from.

Conclusion

With the mosps gone, things were eerily quiet. No more buzzing of the wings or screams from being stung. There was talking and crying and moaning, of course, but the absence of the beasts was definitely noticeable. A glance around the pitch would reveal that they had not done much damage at all to the decorations - everything was still there: the beautiful floating candles, the amazing flower decorations and the nicely-tiled dance floor. Aside from a few thrown chairs and knocked over food tables (chaos actually caused by the students themselves), the only thing that really stood out was the dead mosp bodies littering the pitch.

Tracking Information

Rafael D'Spacito Health: 215/1000 Status: N/A	Wren Caster Health: 490/600 Status: N/A
Vladimir Athanatos Health: 605/1000 Status: N/A	Aurelia Notrésvace Health: -60/500 Status: Knocked Out
Victor Moore Health: -140/200 Status: Knocked Out	Anastasia Beckett Health: -190/500 Status: Knocked Out
Mildred Wilson Health: 294/400 Status: Stung (-1 ACC/EVA)	Adam Harringtom Health: 1044/1200 Status: Stung (-1 ACC/EVA)
Willow Anderson Health: 245/600 Status: Stung (-1 ACC/EVA)	Dale Kurt Health: 867/1000 Status: Stung (-1 ACC/EVA)
Katrina Walker Health: 424/600 Status: Stung (-1 ACC/EVA)	Jack Burnett Health: 360/500 Status: N/A
Lizzie Verdine Health: 460/500 Status: N/A	Tyranni Whitethorn Health: 774/900 Status: N/A
Amara Dragamior Health: 490/500 Status: N/A	Flash Holmwood Health: 246/700 Status: Stung (-1 ACC/EVA)
Thomas Lestrange Health: 800/800 Status: N/A	Percival Gray Health: 557/700 Status: N/A
Atlas Reid Health: 478/600 Status: Stung (-1 ACC/EVA)	Santario Martin Health: 312/500 Status: Stung (-1 ACC/EVA), Concussed
Crystal Jagger Health: 430/500 Status: N/A	Charlie Woodward Health: 1135/1200 Status: Stung (-1 ACC/EVA)
River Dewlight Health: 566/700 Status: Stung (-1 ACC/EVA)	Wyatt Starkey Health: 400/400 Status: N/A
Vincent d'Arque Health: 430/500 Status: N/A	Astrea Soleil Neptune Health: 350/500 Status: N/A
Marion Davenport Health: 50/200 Status: N/A	Dan Palmer Health: 740/800 Status: N/A
Ivy Bellamy Health: 537/600 Status: N/A	Lydia Cooper Health: 462/500 Status: N/A
Opeila Seilun Health: 300/500 Status: N/A	Piérre Marchonné Health: 188/300 Status: Stung (-1 ACC/EVA)

Note: This is the final moderation post. All combat between mosps and characters has ended, so all (non-combative) actions are free. Please use this final round to gather your friends, talk, and exit the pitch.

Thank you all so much for posting and allowing me to moderate this event! It was an honor to be given this position, and I want to shout out my fellow moderators @Pericles Dralt and @Lydia Cooper. Thank you as well to @Opeila Seilun, @Atlas Reid and @Sean Hearth for helping to organize the event in the first place. Another round of thanks to @Solomon Lear, @Hjørdis Jensen, @Alaric Equinox, and @Caradoc Browne (as well as the entire HiO staff) for their major help behind the scenes and support of us. And of course, another thank you to everyone who posted here and in other areas of the ball. I really hope everyone had fun!

With Willow having climbed up onto his back, he wrapped his good arm around her good leg. Her arms would have to do some of the work of keeping herself up there, but she was enough of a spry little kid that clinging to his back was a task she was prepared for the challenge of. It wasn’t like this was the first time he had been her chariot.

It seemed at that point, only after he had been stung, did it seem everyone came out of nowhere at once. Rafael destroyed the mosp attacking Lydia with his bare hands, and both Burnett and Thora came over to try to keep the mosp from tailing the even easier target that Flash had become. The mystery girl’s punch seemed plenty powerful, but even more of a shock was a large, brilliant snake slithering by and snatching the thing between its jaws. Was it conjured? Transfigured? There was too much going on at once to honestly pause and consider his savior’s origin.

For one, Opeila never joined his side. Though the smoke was dissipating, he was drawn to the sound of Opeila’s hacking lungs. Flash’s eyes passed over the scene for anything that was left to be an obstacle. Selim was gone, most people were gone, Vladimir was talking to a teacher with his bag in his hands, Marion was arguing with Nico, who had Victor’s bag on her broom. Opeila was on the ground, struggling to breathe or stand, but still conscious. Flash went over to her, struggling to kneel and reach down for her hand with his free bad arm, squeezing her fingers gently.

”Come on, Opeila. You can lean on me, I’ll support you.” Flash briefly looked around him to anyone that was paying attention. "Let's all go."

They all needed to get out of there, the mosps were flying away and most of them were badly injured. Rafael, Lydia, Burnett, Willow and Opeila had all been roughed up, and Flash didn’t even know hardly anything about the damage beyond the dance floor. He sort’ve didn’t want to know, it could only be bad. Thora herself seemed to have no more business left, with the interrogation of Vladimir having long been a bust, and the bags having found their fates. He was also certain that both that, and the mystery of the snake, would be cleared up quickly enough. This was probably going to continue to be a popular topic of discussion for the new few months to come.

As long as Opeila was able to stand, he would hold her hand as long as she needed it. If not, he would ask someone to help them. Either way, he really wanted to lie down.

Interacting with: @Willow Anderson @Opeila Seilun
Mentioning:

Reducio

@Jack Burnett, @Thora Larkston, Rafael D'Spacito, Lydia Cooper, Janet Jackson, Nico Shymane

Previous posts:

Reducio

Pre-ball, Entrance, Recon, Asked to dance, Spots Vlad on dance floor, Dancing with Ruka, Talking to Ruka, Lamenting, Executing plan, Running to Willow, Talking to Vlad, Hugging Willow, Double Kick is Super Effective, Flinging Spells and Dodging Mosps, Holding Willow’s hand, Getting stung

Open to Interaction
I'll continue to post if anyone wants to follow/ help/ talk to Flash on the way out

The moment the professor turned at his question, Vincent knew he once again had taken the poorest possible decision by sticking around and asking if he could be of any help. Even though professor Vernatis remained calm and polite, he knew that was not an accurate display of the man’s true thoughts about him appearing him. The sigh preceding his answer was a dead giveaway, but even if the vibe it conjured had been missed by its receiver, the vibe the answer itself sent out could not be misunderstood. Though courteous and innocent in words, as befits a professor, its tenor and obvious message left nothing to the imagination. Vincent undoubtedly felt the unspoken dissatisfaction and annoyance the professor apparently felt towards his presence, making him feel rather uncomfortable about this intricately wrapped reprimand. Although he urgently felt the need to explain and defends his decisions, he forced himself not to, knowing the professor actually had a point.

“I guess I had that coming.” Vincent thought, standing amidst the chaos like a marble statue, his guilty gaze turned to the ground. His persisting presence at this party would most certainly have consequences. Vincent felt a blush spread out from his neck to his cheeks as he looked up at the professor, all too aware of the silly mistakes he had made after – well – after the chaos had started. He should consider himself lucky not to be injured more seriously, the bruises he had sustained from falling off the broom and flat on the pitch would be gone in a few days. Which was probably more than could be said from the emotional scars. Well, he would have to take his punishment like a man, both physical and mental, but there’s a time for everything and this was not the time for said punishment. He had a much more pressing matter to deal with, which was getting out of here. Fast.

“I will try to do that, professor.” He obediently replied to the professor’s suggestion to be a crutch for the boy whose wounds he had tended just now. There was no point in opposing such an obvious, logical and wise action. But then he hesitated. Something the professor had said had piqued his interest. The mosps and whatever other dangers they had managed to create this night. They? Vincent felt the blood drain from his face. THEY? It was the students themselves that were responsible for the flying creatures he assumed were the so-called mosps? But how? And, even more important, why? He violently shook his head, this had to wait for now, his first priority now was to get the boy and himself out into safety. Preferably without any other obstacles and problems. A grim smile appeared on his face as he stiffly turned towards the boy, who didn’t look too well despite being treated by professor Artemis. Vincent was determined to at least this task to a success, another failure was no option. He held out his hand as he leaned forward to allow the boy to grab it were he to accept the help. “If you can grab my hand I’ll pull you on your feet. You can then lean on me and I’ll guide you to the exit, to safety.” When the boy he tried to help would succeed they'd carefully shuffle to the castle where he could be treated further.

Action: Assisting @Percival Gray in getting to the castle to get more medical treatment