Where I Belong Closed

Interacting with and Mentioning: @Pericles Dralt @May Moonstar @Ariana Walker @Xailah Alptraum and @Meenauh Silmataurea

As May came face to face with the Prefect she had run straight into she began to back away looking a bit embarrassed. It was seeing May’s face and realising just how much she hated the very thought of getting in trouble that brought Janet to her senses. She glanced at Ariana and then at the two prefects who were discussing their fate in whispered voices. The Ravenclaw one called Pericles directed a few kind and comforting smiles her way as he broke the news to her that her bow would be sent back home, she hadn’t really expected anything less and she felt grateful that he was being so gentle with her.
“Umm I’m really sorry about all this and I understand that you will have to send my stuff back, and that I’ll probably get a detention too, but May and Ariana really didn’t have anything to do with this, they just stumbled upon me like you did.”
Janet purposely refrained from mentioning that May had also had a turn with her bow. She felt a bit guilty from doing so as she glanced towards the way of the prefects. But Janet wasn’t one to snitch and she would feel terrible if May got a detention because of her. The quiet and kindly girl would feel absolutely terrible about getting in trouble, Janet on the other hand was a different matter, it was very much in her nature to be reckless and to step over the line with her pranks. The same could be said for Ariana and it was a miracle that the two troublemakers had lasted so long without detention anyway.

Mentioning: @Ariana Walker @Xailah Alptraum @May Moonstar @Pericles Dralt and @Meenauh Silmataurea

Janet's original fear had now almost completely left her, and she accepted her fate. So what if she got a detention anyway? It was about time she was caught at one of her pranks or "rebellious" adventures. She knew that Ariana would probably take a similar view of the situation and that they would joke about it later. She wasn't so confident about May however, that was what made her try to take the blame for her, Janet herself didn't care much about one little detention (although she admitted she had some concern at first due to her first-year innocence, if she could be called even slightly innocent), but to May this was obviously a huge deal and if Janet was going to get in trouble anyway it was only common sense to try and get the others out of it.
"What!?" Ariana cried in surprise.
Oh of course Ariana would try and take the blame herself now, being the noble Gryffindor that she was.
“May’s a little shy sometimes, she doesn't mean any disturbance, in fact she is becoming quite a good friend of mine, she didn't mean to break the rules at all, she well uh, stumbled upon Janet. If it was anyone's fault it was mine, I didn’t warn Janet about it, I just left her to bear the consequences.”
Janet glared at Ariana exasperatedly, she had to admire her courage, she was indeed a true Gryffindor. But why couldn't she just let Janet do the talking, she was the one with the bow and would therefore get punished no matter what happened, what Ariana had done had just made sure both of them looked guilty. Well Janet knew why, much like the famous Harry Potter himself Ariana had to be so noble and loyal and get everyone else out of trouble. Well even though it could be downright annoying at times like this it was a trait that Janet greatly admired in Ariana and it was one of the reasons she liked her so much.
"Didn't have anything to do with what?" asked the Gryffindor prefect who was apparently called Xailah, she then glanced over to the clumsy target Janet had made, "Anything to do with that?"
Janet herself looked over to the cardboard target that she had pinned to a tree.
"You appear to be a good ssshot. Though, I wonder what our Herbology professor, Mr... MacTavish would have to sssay, about sssomeone hurting one of his beloved trees. I am tempted to enlighten him about this encounter."
Janet noted guiltily that her arrows had indeed wedged itself deep into the cardboard and damaged the tree, she certainly had not considered the possibility that it would be permanently hurt and she felt bad about that. She had perhaps not shown it very well during this encounter but Janet was normally caring with wildlife.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly.
The prefect then mentioned something about her being fed to the plants? Janet wasn't sure whether to laugh or not, was she joking? or did she think that the first years would be genuinely frightened? So she contended herself with a slight grin.

@Meenauh Silmataurea @Janet Jackson @May Moonstar @Ariana Walker @Xailah Alptraum
Scuse the wait!

If Xailah was throwing shade, Pericles didn't seem to have registered it. "I try not to be," he commented casually, voice tinted with an edge of play, light and easy as the breeze ruffling the arrow fletching in the tree. "Not so long as there are alternatives. It's good t'see you, too." The young wizard refrained from any sly smirks or leering grins while Meenauh described what the tree could have been and Xailah spoke of sinister professors. Instead, his steady smile remained, though a spark of understanding winked back at them both. May in particular looked dubious, cross with them even, so he tried to mold the comment into something empathetic. With the intonation of an anger management guru, he opened his freckled fingers, saying soothingly:
"What my friends mean is, there are all manner of dangers around Hogwarts. Living trees, carnivorous plants, and creatures who call the mundane trees their homes. You're far better off not wandering to secret spots on the grounds, let alone doing anything to draw the attention of... local wildlife. We don't mean to spoil your outing: we're here t'keep you lot safe."

Janet's apology and understanding saw Pericles nodding, that sad smile still a mild curve as he held out his hands, palm-up in indication that now was the time to hand her weapon over. As she insisted her accomplices acquaintances were innocent, he hesitated, a questioning glance split between Ariana and May. He hadn't seen the latter take a turn and was quick to believe her words. That is, at least, until Ariana interjected. The pale lad's scrutiny bounced back to her, still mutely taking in tones, expressions, explanations. His regard faded for something expectant, evidently awaiting an appeal. May's shyness was bought just as easily, and Peri tried not to smile when he saw Janet shoot an exasperated eye towards Ariana. Try as she may to make a noble attempt at redistributing blame, the attempt didn't quite hold water. "You shouldn't feel guilty," he insisted with a shake of his head, whether or not she did. "It was just as much her responsibility to know the rules as it is yours. I wouldn't say you're at fault."
He had done his fair share of failing to warn professors of mischief he had caught wind of, though that was neither here nor there.

Weighing all which was seen and said, a second's silence passed before he began in a concluding manner: "I don't think the Herbology teacher needs to know, for her sake, but this bow ought to go to Janet's Head of House so it can be sent home. Which House are you in?" Assuming she didn't fib, Pericles would pass the weapon off to either of the Gryffindor girls. If she stated anything other than the truth, he would simply keep bow and arrows in hand, making a mental note to get it to the right place. "They can decide if anything else-" addressing Meenauh and Xailah "-needs to be done. I'd say the only thing needed now is to take away a few reminders." He looked from one to the next, reciting "advice".
To Janet: "No weapons, and try not to damage anything 'round the school."
To May: "Running doesn't solve problems- least, not with professors and prefects."
To Ariana: nothing further. As far as he was concerned, she hadn't caused any trouble.

May hadn't talked the whole conversation, until Ariana and Janet began to excuse themselves of what the supposedly did. What?! May had done a bit of archery in the school grounds, gladly hadn't been caught and scared off by prefects, and hadn't even done anything to natures trees. She had always thrown her arrows to the lake. Yes, May was unusual for her age, always coming up with odd ideas, and putting herself into trouble odd ideas. Of course, nobody caught her off, and she would be safe in the common room, laughing and eating cookies-
But that wasn't the case. They were about to get detention - most likely Janet and herself, not Ariana - and would need to scrub the floor by muggle means. But May wouldn't mind that. She was muggle born and knew everything about muggle means. So she didn't mind.

"N-no,I-it's my fault Mr. D-Dralt, Iusedthebowandarrowbeforejanetcauseitsmyfaultanyways" she stammered. She wanted to get over with it. She wanted to go to detention and stop looking at the three prefects ugly faces exept especially Pericles. She hated that double nerd to the end of the world.

"Oh, y-yeah, I runned -c-cause I needed t-to go a-and tell Mr. Brown, s-sir about....that it was my fault...

She tried lying to the prefects, but her pale cheeks had turned a shade of red and she was now kicking the floor softly with her feet. Really, what a show.

Interacting with: @May Moonstar @Ariana Walker @Pericles Dralt @Xailah Alptraum @Meenauh Silmataurea

As Janet had assumed, Ariana was soon cleared of fault and the prefect began to address a few words to her and May.
"I don't think the Herbology teacher needs to know, for her sake, but this bow ought to go to Janet's Head of House so it can be sent home. Which House are you in?"
"Gryffindor," said Janet sadly.
Well if her head of house was going to be involved Janet may as well give in to the idea of detention, it was a miracle she had survived until now anyway.
"No weapons, and try not to damage anything 'round the school."
To May Janet looked apologetically, she had done her best to try and get her at least out of trouble but it appeared that she was getting a telling off for her foolish attempt at escape. But she surely wouldn't get a detention for that? Janet on the other hand was a different matter, she had clearly broken school rules. But as long as May kept quiet about her turn with archery no one need ever know. Right? To Ariana she gave a shrug as if to say 'who cares!?' and a little smirk that no one but her partner in crime would see. For Ariana and Janet it was always kind of a competition who would get into the most scrapes and the two girls considered it a fun little game to compare pranks and see who could earn a reputation for trouble (among the teachers and staff) the quickest. Their ambition was to be known as the class pranksters by the end of the year. And although Janet still tried to get out of detention as much as possible that was quickly changing as she realized there wasn't much point. The first year might come off as innocent and apologetic at first, but underneath that mask she was a real little devil.
"N-no,I-it's my fault Mr. D-Dralt, Iusedthebowandarrowbeforejanetcauseitsmyfaultanyways" May stammered quickly.
Janet rolled her eyes in frustration, she admired May's courage to say that, it obviously wasn't easy for her, but what had she achieved? Simply to get herself into trouble as well as Janet. Why couldn’t they just leave the talking to her?

Interacting with @Pericles Dralt and @Janet Jackson

@May Moonstar @Janet Jackson @Xailah Alptraum @Meenauh Silmataurea @Ariana Walker

Pericles coordinated the confrontation with ease. Although he didn't derive some strange delight from flashing his prefect badge, the interaction had gone simply and satisfyingly. That is, at least, save poor May Moonstar's anxiety. The moment he was referred to as Mister Dralt, the tranquil expression stumbled. His eyebrows arched high, pale lips curved into a soft taken-aback frown. The title tinged the tips of his ears with the faintest tint of color. It made him sound old, or (perhaps worse), like his father. Peacemaking palms were raised, trying to calm her with an awkward grin and mellow tone. "Just 'Pericles' is fine," he insisted first, casting Xailah an uncertain glance when the young lioness purred about guilty consciences. "I have a feeling that the only trouble here will be the possession of a weapon." He would try to do the nice thing by pretending he hadn't heard tell of anyone other than Janet using the bow. Pericles' suggestion to found an archery club came returned to forethought; if Janet was collecting signatures to start one, it seemed she may have two ready to write their names already.

It was no wonder as to why May, Ariana, and Janet may be feeling out of sorts. Pericles, Meenauh, and Xailah made for a discombobulating dynamic. While the boy delivered gentle yet firm warnings, his prefect partners drawled subtle threats and sly witticisms. It was a considerably more complex arrangement than "Good Cop, Bad Cop". Janet was given a grateful nod as she admitted to her House. The girl's sorrowful note was not lost on him, and the lad was glad when both Xailah and Meenauh offered reassurances: the bow would be taken to their Head of House, and that would be the end of it. Likely. Maybe. He did not know the Gryiffindor Pride's alpha all too well, but assumed her to be a relatively reasonable type. If she chose to enforce a detention after all, he couldn't imagine it being all too severe.

Meenauh twanged a pretend arrow in final theatrics, and Xailah proposed that their work was finished. Pericles' silvery stare moved from one face to the next- May, Janet, Ariana- quietly committing them to memory with that prolonged strange smile of his. "Be safe," he suggested to the three, kindness a thin veil for cautioning. "Until we meet again." A side-to-side glance moved between the two prefects before Pericles invited, "Shall we?" He turned on a heel, fingers folded over a satchel strap, intending to stroll back towards the castle rather than resume his lakeside reading.

Exiting scene unless stopped, and- with permission- taking Xailah and Meenauh along.