Secret Blossom Ball Event Finished

Pain. White hot, overwhelming, sense-dulling pain. Katrina couldn't even think. The only thing the Gryffindor was capable of doing was lay on the dusty ground and sob. As the chair clattered to the ground without making contact with the mosp, the second year realized that she was going to die. She had no fight left in her and there was no one around to save her. Her arm hurt and her ear hurt and her finger hurt and her side hurt and her head hurt and she couldn't do anything to save herself.

Then there was a voice, it sounded near her as well. Katrina blearily opened her puffy, blood shot eyes and saw a flash of light. There was someone there! As she pushed herself into somewhat of a sitting position she gasped in pain, hardly keeping herself from collapsing again. She could somewhat see the person's frame, when they turned around, Katrina could see the person was Adonis. The boy said something, but Katrina didn't really catch what, she was just noticing that her brain had seemed to be working again, she could actually think, even though it seemed like too much of an effort.

Katrina must have zoned out for several seconds, because when she turned back to Adonis, she saw the mosp rearing up, her voice caught in her throat and she closed her eyes expecting to see that when she opened them, Adonis would be crumpled on the ground with a gaping hole in his stomach. However, when she finally did pry her eyes open, she saw that the mosp had joined the rest of the still living swarm, no longer in a position to kill.

It was over. It was actually over.

Katrina watched as everything seemed to disperse. Almost as if someone had told everyone to get out while they still could. The Gryffindor stumbled to her feet somehow managing to stay vertical. She was done with this. She could easily slip out and crawl into the Gryffindor dorm, wrap up her arm and ear and sleep the rest of the horrid night away. But there was something nagging in her mind that it wasn't going to be that simple. She could feel a fire in her veins that was as clear of an indication of any that there was poison in her two stings. Poison that she didn't know how to treat.

"A-Adonis?" Katrina coughed as her smoke filled lungs prevented her from saying anything else. She looked down at her arm, unsure what to say and almost vomited. There was a lot of blood. Seeing someone else bleeding was fine, she was actually calmer than most in that situation, but sitting in a pool of her own blood was much more different.

"I-We need to get out. But I don't," Katrina faded out, eyes glazing over for a second, "I don't know how well I can walk," For a girl who dealt with so many injuries on others, she was surprisingly weak with dealing with her own suffering.

Somehow, after a lot of effort, Katrina managed to get herself on her feet. She was swaying dangerously and honestly looked like a wreak. Her hair had come out and was matted with dirt and her own tears. The touch of makeup she had put on was smudged and her face was dirt streaked. Her ear was a mess that her hair thankfully hid and her dress was torn and bloodied.

Katrina stumbled over to a table. "I think that- that I should probably get to the Hospital Wing,"

At this point I'm wrapping up only a few more posts max, anyone that wants to say hi/check up on my Kat feel free also feel free to simply note her as a wreak || Kat is open to Interactions || I am setting up a HW thread soon || @Adonis Thorn

Thora frowned as her spell succeeded, but veered terribly off course. Thankfully, it didn't hit and knock back any students--or anything else, for that matter--but the failure was still humiliating. She'd come to the ball for information, and would leave with none, so it seemed. She'd done her best to help, but failed each time she tried, be it spellcasting, checking the contents of a mysterious bag, or extinguishing fires. She'd come to be useful, but had ultimately been completely useless. The Slytherin hoped to fix the trend, do something helpful, but it seemed that the window of opportunity had closed. It was unfortunate, but she couldn't help but be grateful that the ordeal was about over.

As it would turn out, the mosp was crushed in the mouth of a giant snake. Simultaneously struck with awe and fear, Thora watched as it killed the terrorizing bug singlehandedly. She'd no idea where the being came from, but nevertheless, it was real and she couldn't be more glad it'd arrived when it did. Thora wouldn't have forgiven herself if the mosp had struck again--or, multiple times, even--because she'd failed in killing it. The rest of the mosps swiftly left, bumbling off into the sky and out of the pitch. The aftermath they left behind was devastating, but at least there was one danger eliminated. Finally.

The near silence was almost surreal. So long had the pitch been lit up by fire and lumos, and the air ringing with cries and screams, that even though there was still plenty of noise being made from various places, it seemed almost peaceful. The battle was over. It was a realization that Thora almost couldn't believe had finally come true, and one of the best things to dawn on her yet. But, of course, they couldn't just all return to their common rooms and burrow under blankets, escaping into a dreamy world from the harsh reality they were currently in. The aftermath had to be cleaned up first.

Cries alerted the young brunette to one Marion Davenport, and a closer glance led to the realization that there was someone with Marion--Vladimir, perhaps, as the last one of the trio [Victor] seemed to have left somehow, which was no surprise seeing how badly he'd been injured. Both were speaking to Professor Vernatis, from what she could see, which wasn't too alarming… until she watched as the boy jabbed a finger in her direction.

A shiver ran down Thora's spine as she stood frozen, eyes glued to the scene, stomach sinking. She was much too far away to deduce what they were saying, but this couldn't be good. It wasn't so much detention she was afraid of, but rather what had been said about her. When she'd lunged for the bag--someone else's property--and even when she'd been a part of confronting Marion months before, the girl had never accounted for what might come out of it. As for herself, she hardly ever forgot what others did, whether it was a gesture she appreciated or despised, and there was no reason that she should expect the opposite from others. No doubt she would be in trouble soon.

Almost surprised at the fact that she hadn't been called over by the Charms professor, or by anyone, for that matter--she'd practically been transparent the entire time, for all she (or anyone else) could tell--Thora turned her green gaze away and back to the nearby scene. Flash seemed about ready to leave, a girl she couldn't put a name to [Willow] on his back, and with Opeila as well. They seemed fairly close, and capable too, so Thora had no intention of breaching the moment and forcing herself into their space. But still, she ought to at least offer help, shouldn't she?

Surveying the debris-littered pitch once more, Thora attempted to catch up with the younger students. "Hey, Flash, Opeila, I can help--i-if you'd like." If they would reject her, it was completely fine. It wouldn't offend her. She was almost a stranger to these people, and she was sure they could handle themselves--though their ability to do so would undoubtedly be hindered by injuries--but her heart simply wouldn't let her leave without extending a hand. It was their choice, but the offer stood.

Adonis' spell seemed to be successful upon seeing it be cast and shooting out a cloth from the tip of his wand that wrapped around the mosp to blind it. He internally cheered for himself as the creature was now blindfolded, a hardened and serious expression still held itself on his face though as he did so. The boy tried his best to stay out of the way as Katrina also threw a chair at the same moment. Luckily, it didn't hit him but unfortunately it dropped to the ground before it could even hit the mosp they were up against.

The Slytherin boy continued to watch the mosp as it went spiraling up into the air in an attempt to shake off the blindfold in which it eventually did so. Once it did, Adonis was suddenly in a defensive stance again and ready to fend off the mosp a second time, facing it to protect those who he stood in front of even if it meant him getting stung. But then the unthinkable happened when the mosp had suddenly turned the other way and joined it's fellow swarm of mosps as they retreated off into the sky and back towards the Forbidden Forest. It was an odd sight to see. He didn't expect that to happen but it seemed the students had shown their superiority and claimed their victory against them.

As all of that had suddenly happened and everything was now just at peace for once, Adonis idly stood there and took in the scenery around him. All of the sobbing, groans, talking, and other sounds of pain were zoned out by Adonis in that moment as he looked around him. There were students unconscious lying down, dead mosps that were littered about the pitch, and knocked over furniture and whatnot. Everything felt slow in that quick moment while taking it all in.

That was until he was suddenly brought back into reality at the sound of his name. "Katrina." He said in return with relief to see that she could at least talk and wasn't much of a blubbering mess on the ground anymore. Adonis noticed all of the blood that was apparent on her arm due to the sting she had received from the mosp before he came to her aid. "Yes. Yes, we do need to get out of here. Come on-" Before he could help her up, she already had done so herself and stumbled over to a table as she did so. Compared to her, Adonis still looked fairly clean overall as he managed to dodge every one of the mosps attack and not get taken to the ground at all. Don frowned at the thought of his look as it didn't make him look as brave as he felt he had been throughout the whole ball.

"You're right. I'll help get you to the Hospital Wing don't worry. Just hold on." Adonis went over to her at the table and threw one of her arms over his shoulder to help her walk. That was until one of the Hufflepuff boys began handing out brooms, which Adonis gladly took in thanks and helped Katrina get onto the broom with him. After they were both situated on the broom, they took off towards the Hospital Wing to get her some medical attention.

Action: Leaving the thread unless stopped. Was given permission to godmod Katrina.

Interacting with: @Katrina Walker
Mentions: Aaron Jones

Finally students were making their way to safety. The Mosps seemed to be fleeing from the pitch, thankfully. Quickly the woman's brown eyes scanned the pitch around her. Burned tables and decorations, though it appeared not everything was completely destroyed. More students were making their way from the once promising night of fun. Vernatis looked to be in conversation with a student and the ones she had helped were already making their way back to the castle. She watched after them for a moment, two of them held her attention. Especially the boy that seemed to be protecting the girl who was harmed. She would be sure to send along an owl to check in tomorrow. Another student came to her and made their own admittance of guilt with planning. This would all have to wait until things were cleaned up and the students had at least a night to absorb what they had all been through. Turning, Kateri propped up a chair that had been kicked over and took in a deep breath. There would be plenty of cleaning up to do... Kat looked around for her other colleague, Lian somewhere in the mess of things. Spotting her not far off she called out to the young woman.

"Lian, the mosps have gone. Most of the students are heading back to the castle." Finishing her sentence as she came to a stop in front of Cypresse, the professor holstered her wand. What. A. Mess. MESS. And she did not just mean the pitch itself. The faces that passed by her and chatter that followed made her all too aware of how the students were taking in the events that had unfolded that night. This would be a longer matter of cleanup than simply waving wands and righting the pitch to its prior state. "I'll stay behind and-" Kateri's attention was shifted as a small voice was calling out from the changing rooms. Had there been more mosps? Did they miss something? A bolt of adrenaline flashed throught he woman's arms as she grabbed at her wand once again. "I'll be back!" Vernatis was still on the pitch should the Transfiguration professor need anything and Kat would do her best to return as swiftly as possible. Taking off in a run, Kateri made her leave of the pitch and towards the direction of the yell for help.

Action: Running to the Changing Rooms where Jake is calling for her.

Entering from the stands.
Only open for assumed interactions.
Interacting with: anyone in need of a broom.

Pericles Dralt was not necessarily a fantastic flyer.
In fact, his Flying sessions had been more or less the same since his arrival at Hogwarts. Unlike every other subject, he did the absolute bare minimum when it came to these classes, eager to achieve Acceptable performances and call it a day. But the basis of every class flight had been steeped in fear of failure. He worried he would not meet the same standards his father had set long before him, worried his report card would earn a grimace upon returning home for the summer. Tonight, he flew due to a different fear: the thought that he had helped facilitate this ball, and thus was to blame for anyone- everyone- who had been harmed.

Even with five brooms tucked beneath an arm, he managed to maneuver his with adequate ease. He had managed a feat which would alter his opinion of flying forever, which was catching a friend who had fallen from the stands. This flight was comparatively less significant. All the same, any act of aid at all was crucial to him. He would sweep low, clutching the bundle tight lest he risk dropping a ride on any unsuspecting student's head. Pericles' pale face was uncharacteristically tense, stern. He scoured the grim situation below. The smells would stain him, lingering in his mind long after he had washed them from his face: the tang of blood, the burn of smoke. He would be particularly keen in aiding couples- two to a broom was energy efficient, but also ideal in case one was too injured to operate it. Any five persons limping, or aiding someone who could not walk with ease, or carrying anyone unconscious, would have a generic school broom tossed to their feet.

The crowd was managing to disperse swiftly. His meager contribution doled out, Pericles swerved up and out from the pitch, hovering a little ways away from the main air traffic. It was his ship to go down with. He would watch, waiting, for the last of the unfortunate ball-goers to head towards the castle before drifting after, expression empty and eyes pitted in an exhaustion unsuitable to his age.

Event exited.

@Kateri Karr

Cy braced herself for the piercing pain that accompanied the satisfying crunch this time, and found that knowing what was coming dulled the sensation considerably. The insect was snapped up in no time, and she smiled in victory, but her triumph subsided into confusion as she noticed - was the buzzing... getting... softer? Not in a way that signified fewer bugs, or just that they were flying lightly, but... echoey, more distant. They were retreating. Good. It looked like the evening was rapidly coming to an end.

Her suspicions were confused when her friend called to her. "Good," she responded first. The sooner the kids were back at the castle the better - there were plenty of injured that needed to be taken care of. But as Ms. KK was cut off by a voice calling to her from across the grass, Cy tilted her head, recognizing the sound. "Yeah, you should go," Cy assured her - she could handle things there well enough on her own. Cy, on the other hand, was on another mission. Vernatis was still here, whether he wanted to stay on the pitch or go with Kateri. She needed to get back to the castle, make sure the returning students were all right.

A prickle of unease brushed her mind, and she furrowed her brow. Was it wise for the kids to go to the Hospital Wing? Finley... they'd been told to watch him. Just in case, even if he didn't seem like a probable suspect given his behavior... but these days you could never really be too careful. "Ceta!" she called, mind made up, loud as she could, and the loud crack beside her alerted her of the arrival of her assistant.

"Young miss!"

"I'm all right," Cy reassured her. "Man, I should've called you sooner. Can you bring me back to the castle, then keep an eye on the Hospital Wing once I'm there? Things are... things are messy right now." She grimaced, brushing a strand of loose hair out of her face, wand still out. She sent her serpent to slither quietly into the Great Lake with a thought, feeling its albino scales moving over the grass, away from the action - green anacondas were water snakes, and it would be comfortable there, even though it wasn't exactly conscious, until it turned back into fire, and by then the water would take care of the flames.

She felt Ceta's hand on her arm, and followed the elf in the direction of the exit, feeling a little helpless now that the adrenaline had started coming down, the chaos was beginning to fade, and she realized she hadn't brought her cane with her. Keeping her limbs in close to not bump into anything, she squeezed Ceta's hand, hearing the students around her heading in the same direction.

action • exit thread

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: @Celynne Gray, @Cecily Quinn and @Dmitri Jones
mentioning: fleeing ballgoers

entering from Qudditch Stands

"Celynne...!" Adam shouted as their group tumbled onto the pitch. "I hope you know what you're doing!" He'd followed the raven-haired Ravenclaw out of the stands, trusting that she had a plan of escape, but things had only gotten more hectic since then. The buglike creatures that had attacked the ball were suddenly fleeing, as if called away by an inaudible summons. Their retreat should've been a good thing — no more deadly stingers meant no more poisoned wounds — but Adam was unsettled by their sudden exodus. Why would they leave now all of a sudden?

The blond boy got his answer when his eyes landed on a giant white snake, lurching across the pitch and snapping creatures out of the air like they were houseflies. Adam's heart leapt into his throat before he realized that the giant reptile was on their side. At the very least, they had a common enemy. If it had been snatching up students, Adam honestly might have turned and ran. He did not want that thing catching sight of him. The creatures must have been scared off by the arrival of the predator, leaving their dead behind to rot on the grass. Again, the idea struck both fear and relief into Adam's mind.

"You guys see that too, right?" he asked, though it was kind of a stupid question. The only way that they could miss it would be if the snake was some kind of venom-induced hallucination. Of course, that was a remote possibility, even though Adam still felt relatively fine. "Let's, uh, avoid that thing!" Once he was finally able to tear his gaze from the creature, Adam realized with a start how...tidy...the pitch looked. Some chairs had been knocked over or thrown around, sure, and most of the flowers had been displaced, but there was practically no sign of the disaster that had swept the evening. If it weren't for the bug corpses, it would've been your typical magical high school party scene. It was kind of creepy, in the same way that the fleeing bugs had been. The chaos had ended just as quickly as it began. It felt like only moments (and yet somehow, days) ago that Adam had arrived: spirits high, dress robes intact, broom in hand...

Oh! His broom! He'd completely forgotten about it the second that he'd dropped it off at the entrance. Assuming that it was still in its place, Adam had found his way out. He strained to see the edge of the pitch, but it was just out of his field of vision. He couldn't risk losing the broom — they had to be going quickly with so many students in attendance. Celynne had said that she wanted to help the professors, that maybe it would get them out of trouble, but Adam couldn't take her word for it. As much as he wanted to believe his housemate, he didn't relish the idea of rolling out of his hospital bed right into detention. He couldn't stop her, or any of them, but he also couldn't go with them.

"Guys, hold on." Adam bit his lip nervously as he tried to figure out what to say. "I know we said we'd come down here and help, but my broom might still be over there, and I really think that we should go. If we get caught here, there could be trouble, and even there isn't then we're going to get a lot of questions that I can't answer. It seems smarter just to go." He hesitated a moment, hoping that he wasn't stumbling over his words. "I'm not trying to control the group, I swear. You guys can obviously handle yourselves, so if you want to stay here, I get it — but I have to go."

He hadn't even thought about if he could fly a broom with his chest torn open, but he'd have to risk it. Giving one last apologetic look to his classmates, Adam turned for the entrance, moving as fast as he comfortably could. It felt wrong to leave the others behind, but they really could take care of themselves. Plus, there was still a chance that they'd follow him out. Whatever plan they chose, Adam prayed that they stayed unharmed.

It was hard to pick out his Nimbus when Adam finally got to the entrance, so he just took the first broom handed to him. There would be time to sort out possessions later, if they weren't all seized by the staff first. Adam felt his arms shake a little bit as he mounted his broom. He tried to remember his Quidditch training, but he hadn't had all that much of it as a second-string Beater. Still, any first-year that passed Flying class could get off the ground. He didn't have to be a professional to make it back to the castle.

With that slight comfort in mind, Adam kicked off and set his sights on Hogwarts' glowing lights, where he knew that he'd be safe. The boy didn't have a plan for tomorrow, or even an hour from now. He had no idea how he was going to explain his wound, but with so many injured students, he doubted that he'd have to. If he was lucky, he might even be able to heal it himself (although it did look pretty deep). Finding a small solace in the feeling of the wind on his face, Adam took a breath and told himself not to panic. He'd cross each bridge when he came to it. For now, the only goal was reaching the castle and finding his friends. They would all be alright in the long run.

Next time, he was just going to stay in the damn common room.

[THREAD LEFT]

Asteria looked around. It seemed like most of the chaos had died down in the time that she was frozen. That was good. Without those evil-looking beast bugs around, she could relax again. Those things had given her a bit of a shock. No wonder she never liked bugs much.

Without all the commotion that the mosps caused, the pitch almost seemed quiet. A bit too quiet in fact. Asteria resisted the urge to scream, which would bring too much attention to her, and with other people around who were actually hurt that wasn't a good idea. She still had yet to think of something that actually was a good idea though.

Looking around once more, the Ravenclaw noticed something that she had missed the first time. Why was there a snake in the middle of the pitch? Apparently all the creatures weren't gone after all. She should probably just leave, there was no point in staying anymore. The professors would likely give detention or worse to whoever was found to be a part of this event and personally, she would rather not get detention if at all possible.

Taking one last glance at the pitch, Asteria turned on her heel and fled. She sprinted back in the direction of the castle, as fast as she could go. Hopefully, no one had noticed her in the event at all, or if they did, that they weren't the snitching type.

Action: Attempting to flee unless stopped

Mentioning @Pericles Dralt

For her first ball, her whimsical expectations were eminently farther from the truth. She had simple whims, though a bit romanticized to a fault. A dance with the boy she likes, some fun and laughs, that's all she expected. When Pericles told her that he's leading a sort of investigation team for Hogwarts, Breana always thought it would be akin to Saturday night mystery shows for children, not... this. This massive clash against flying vermin of epic proportions. A part of her wondered if situations such as this were the norm here in Hogwarts. Could she even survive such attacks? What if there would be a worse encounter than this? Another part of her wondered if she could have been better prepared herself.

Her thoughts rambled along as she helped Pericles hand out brooms for their schoolmates, her actions almost looking as if she was programmed for such actions. Breana was wondering if she was even a fit enough witch to be in Hogwarts. It never occurred to her, that her situation was almost completely in the midriff. She isn't pureblood, so she never had enough knowledge to fortify a library of wizarding knowledge in her mind. However, she wasn't a muggle-born either like her mother, so she didn't have the reasoning that she lacked the knowledge. Breana had her mother to lean towards. Maybe she could ask her of her own school days with more detail next time...

For now, it's time to focus on safety. As she handed the brooms, her thoughts were already one foot out the door. As she was left with the one broom for herself, Breana was ready to head straight for the Ravenclaw dorms, ready to head straight to bed despite her torn up attire.

Breana has left the thread unless interrupted.