Temporary Pain Open Closed

Interacting with | @Ruka Burnett-Tân | @Henry Knight

Ileen was hanging around in the hospital wing. Why? That was a good question. Yesterday, after her own duel, she had looked after her opponents to make sure they were better. The sense of guilt for having harmed others was still gnawing at the young Slytherin, but she had faced up to this fear and learned some important lessons.
Even though she wanted to stay on the duelling team, her main concern was to become a healer and as much as she had read, she had seen the house elves and healers in action for the first time yesterday. There had been a lot of new and interesting things and that's why she had grabbed her notebook today and since the duels she had been hanging around the hospital, watching how people were treated and writing down eagerly everything she could learn from it. Now and again she would take cover behind the curtain that had been drawn in front of an empty bed. After all, she was not quite sure whether what she was doing here was wanted or tolerated.

And so it was this time. She had hidden behind the curtain when one of her classmates had brought a Gryffindor to the hospital wing. Ileen's heart had contracted with sympathy when she had seen the unconscious boy - she was still not sure if she could really approve of the dueling system...
Not wanting to be discovered, she had quickly taken cover behind the curtain and secretly watched how the house elves had treated the boy. Now she sat on the empty bed and checked her notes once more. After all, there was not much that could be done. Until now, most unconscious people had been given medicine as soon as they woke up.

She stood up quietly, the mattress squeaking softly, but voices were actually wafting over to her, so hopefully she hadn't been heard. Carefully she peeked around the curtain and realised that she had been right. The Gryffindor boy had sat up and his face briefly reflected that he was obviously in pain. The boy who had brought him here was not with him now, no. It was Henry. Ileen blinked in surprise and listened. Did he just ask him if there was someone else here? Really? The poor boy had just woken up! Whether he needed medicine or not - he definitely needed peace to recover. Peace! Obviously, he was not well.
Ileen still didn't quite know what to make of Henry. Although they were both on the dueling team, they hadn't spoken since that one evening in the common room. And Ileen, who was deeply suspicious by nature, had been carefully keeping her distance ever since.
However, this insitink was overwhelmed by her indignation that someone was disturbing the poor Gryffindor. The young girl hesitated for a moment, but then decided to intervene. Like a true healer! Quickly she tied her hair into a knot. She had the feeling that she looked much more grown-up like this and the first impressions really mattered. She was against lies in principle, but now and then you had to make an exception for a greater causecourse! She grabbed her book with the notes and stuck it under her arm. She certainly looked professional and important that way. Then she took a deep breath and stepped out of her hiding place. Fortunately nobody knew that the bed was empty, she could just as well have come from another student. Now it was time to play the nurse. Good thing she wore her school robe.

Clearing her throat to get the attention of the two she walked towards the bed and gave the boy in it a warm smile. His copoper hair reflected the sunlight and she tried to make contact with these green eyes. Hopefully he wasn't too sick. "Oh, you woke up. How are you, how do you feel?" She was delighted with her own acting abilities. Her voice didn't wobble a bit and she pushed her shoulders back confidently. Then she turned to Henry with eyebrows raised. "Hello Henry. What are you doing here? Visiting sick people?"
She smiled slightly and tilted her head before turning back to the Gryffindor. "Are you in pain?" Now she had to do something, anything, to justify standing here and pretending to know something. Quickly she rummaged in the pocket of her robe and her smile deepened. "You know what definitely helps? Silence and chocolate. I've heard that somewhere." She blinked at him friendly and handed him a chocolate frog. Phew, let's see what would happen now. She gave Henry a sharp look. "Can I help you?" If she already pretended to be the nurse, she might as well do it properly then. Ileen grinned. Somehow she liked this role.

Permission given by Ruka to observe the events while he was unconscious

Interacting with
@Henry Knight and @Ileen Knight
Communicating with @Jack Burnett via Binding Mark
Jack's Dialogue provided by Jack

Waking up with only a vague recollection of the events that had led up to his passing out would have been uncomfortable enough on its own already, but what definitely did not help Ruka's headache was the approach of a boy he didn't really recognise, asking questions at what seemed to be a mile a minute.

It made him groan lightly in discomfort, lifting a hand to try and get the boy to stop, but none of his gestures were grand enough to draw attention. "How do you... How do you know I'm a Gryffindor?" Ruka asked, confusion pulling his forehead into a frown. He hadn't been wearing his cloak that day and neither his T-Shirt nor his jeans were indicative of his House. "Do we know each other?" Maybe they did; Ruka wasn't exactly the best with people, so there was a big chance he had just forgotten about meeting this kid before.

Muttering something under his breath, Ruka rubbed the palms of his hands against his eyes. Where was his brother, why wasn't he here?

Jack, did you... Did you bring me to the Hospital Wing? There's this anxious kid asking questions and I don't remember getting here.

The words were only a thought in his head, a question only for his brother to hear, to maybe clear things up, but while focusing on his thoughts he also shortly lost track of what the other boy was saying, so he just blinked a few times until Jack's voice filled his head again.

<No, someone else did. If I had, I'd be there right now. Who's the kid? Someone you dueled with? Why aren't the staff getting rid of him?>

Ruka huffed quietly, closing his eyes for a moment. Where was the staff? Were they all so busy caring for other students that none of them seemed to be around? Focusing his thoughts again, Ruka just stared blankly at the boy in front of him while silently communicating with his brother.

No clue, I don't know him. Haven't seen staff around either, don't think anybody's noticed I'm awake yet.

With that thought done, Ruka tried to put his attention back on the boy actually in front of him, who looked expectant in a way, like he thought Ruka had an answer to whatever question he had just asked.

"I'm sorry, I don't...," he started, but he was spared a proper response when a girl joined them as well. She seemed confident, professional somehow, despite the fact that Ruka didn't take her to be much older, if at all, than the boy with all the questions or himself. Either way, he couldn't help but feel a wave of gratitude toward her as she shifted the focus on Ruka's condition, rather than encouraging the boy - Henry - to keep asking questions. It gave Ruka an opportunity to concentrate on his brother's voice in his head once more.

<What's he asking you?>

The question made Ruka chuckle quietly to himself, but he recomposed himself quickly so the other two in his company wouldn't think he might be laughing at them.

Think he wanted to know if I've seen his friend. Another girl's here now, too. Just get over here, my head is bursting.

With that last thought, Ruka refocused, a dopey little grin on his face as he looked at the newly arrived girl. "My head's a mess," he admitted, lifting a hand to tap a finger lightly against his temple. A small look at Henry made Ruka let out a little chuckle, his brother's newest rude words ringing through his head.

"I don't think my brother likes you very much," he told Henry with a solemn nod. There was no way the other boy would have any clue what he was talking about, but Ruka thought it necessary to mention anyway before he could give the girl his full attention again. "My back hurts too. I don't remember getting here." A part of him wanted to ask if anybody knew how their duel had ended, but considering their odds and how bored his partner had seemed of the whole ordeal, he wasn't very hopeful.

Instead he tilted his head to the side and accepted the chocolate frog he was handed with a grateful nod. "Thanks," he said, watching curiously as the girl turned towards Henry with a rather sharp tone in her voice. As Ruka unwrapped the chocolate frog, he didn't take his eyes off the pair, failing to notice that the jumpy chocolate creature had been released from its wrapping enough to jump out of his hands and onto the bed sheets where it wiggled around as if to make itself comfortable.

"I think he's looking for a redheaded Gryffindor," Ruka provided helpfully, reaching one hand out to try and get the chocolate frog back. Pointing at his own copper hair, he shrugged his shoulders lightly. "So maybe he was looking for me. Though I don't know him." He sighed heavily and shrugged his shoulders. "Or maybe I do and I just forgot. Did I get knocked on the head before I passed out? I do seem to be hearing voices, too."

Henry was regretting asking the boy more and more now as while yes a part of him was feeling guilty for disturbing him since he was no doubtly injured another part of him felt his anxiety rise and panic filled his mind as every possible worst scenario entered his mind with worry clearly filling the second year's blue eyes and almost every other minute he ran a hand through his hair to hide these emotions from the boy and anyone else.

" uh no we don't know each, I don't think. I just remember you duel this morning, I knew your teammate; uh Zykeal is a gryffindor so I assumed your one to but terribly sorry for disturbing you," Henry replied to the boy's question while also trying to hide his emotion by fiddling with his jacket ends or running a hand through his hair.

However his search for his friend only got worse when a brown eyed girl joined in and acted far more mature than she actually was as she tended to the kid before rounding on Henry.

Ileen was the last person Henry felt like seeing, the girl definitely had her issues since she seemed to hold a grudge or something against him for what having the same last name has her? She does he never met his family either right and technically his family would be consider a lot more broken than hers? But never mind that, Henry did try it avoid the girl until the caretaker snapped at him just because he had her last name which frustrated the boy since for some odd reason he actually respected and almost liked the caretaker, now head of ravenclaw.

" I'm visiting a friend Ileen and what are you doing? I didn't think they'll hire a twelve year old as the new nurse," Henry spoke back returning the glare that she was giving him still however with panic swimming in his blue eyes and thoughts. Although his attention was taken from her to the boy who mentioned something that rose his anxiety even more as he stuttered out " I'm s..sorry? Uh what d..do you mean? Who your b..brother?"

Now Henry panic, running his hand through his hair faster and more frequently now as he was doing his best to hide his rising anxiety and panic that was spiraling within him just wanting to explode and more than likely embarrassed him which the thought of it wasn't helping the boy either.

Henry heard their conversation but didn't respond as he was more worried about his rising anxiety and hiding it not to mention his stutter. He was usually pretty good with it and didn't really stutter unless he lost focus or his anxiety got in the way which both things were happening as his left hand tapped his pant leg to calm calm down and still keep his anxiety hidden but for how long.

When he caught their last few words, Henry got a grip on himself for long enough as he spoke " I'm sorry for bothering you again mate," he really didn't mean to say the word 'mate' just a habit that he still needed to break as he continued " but I'll leave you on my search for my friend since I rather not ask help from the person who holds grudges against you for no reason at all."

Groggily cracking her eyes open, Rose flinched at the light and tried to sit up. Tucking her arms under her, she pushed toward a sitting position, but froze and bit back a gasp. Moving sucked. She flopped her head back into the pillow. Rose was aching everywhere, but over all of it, she still had a splitting headache. Rose blinked a few times, bringing one hand to her head, trying to force her eyes to adjust, forcing herself to wake up all the way. She was in the hospital wing.

It all came crashing down around her, the memory of the duel repeating in her mind. Rose had lost her first duel. She had failed. She hated the feeling- Failure. What a failure she was.

Eyre!

Despite still hurting everywhere, Rose quickly sat up, propping herself against the bed frame and looking around the Hospital Wing for her dueling partner and boyfriend.

There he was. In a bed across from her, sleeping peacefully. He looked awful. Rose looked awful, too. Her face was paler than normal, she looked as groggy as she felt, and she had this underlying guilt that she had let her team down. How could she have lost that duel that miserably? Rose clenched her jaw, angry at herself. She had failed. Failed Eyre, failed Gryffindor, failed herself.

Then Henry walked in. He was conversing with another redhead boy, who Rose believed was Ruka. He was on the Gryffindor Dueling team, too. He was in the bed next to Rose's, and Henry was asking if Ruka had seen Rose.

No no no. Rose thought Henry was a sweet and amazing friend of hers, but she didn't want anyone to see her like this. She was a mess, trying not to move when she didn't have to. Just being slumped against the bed.

Henry was a stuttering mess, and his condition hadn't seemed to improve on the other girl coming into their conversation. "Henry?" Rose called out to her friend. It was very convenient Ruka and her beds were side-by-side. "Ruka, is that you? Did you loose too?"

-

By SK

-

When Dee had left the Duelling Club earlier, she'd been too angry to think straight. She hadn't waited to watch the end of the duel, had barely even stuck around long enough to check that someone levitated Ruka off the stage, before she'd turned around and stormed off, leaving the crowd and that cursed duel behind. She hadn't had much doubt about how it would end, anyway.

Her feet had carried her off, down the stairs and out the gigantic oak doors to fresh air and fewer students around. She'd kicked a bush in frustration, had accidentally singed a few colourful autumn leaves just because she'd gripped her wand too hard. And then, slowly, her anger had started ebbing off and she'd started feeling slightly guilty. Although she didn't have any clue why that duel had turned out the way it had, Ruka was a friend. Shouldn't she at least have checked on him? It wasn't like she'd been randomly attacked.

So she'd turned around, retracing her steps up until the third floor, and turned towards the Hospital Wing. She'd picked up speed on the way, unable to shake the feeling that she was late somehow, like she should have headed there in the first place, so by the time she entered the Hospital Wing, she was basically bursting through the doors in a manner not entirely appropriate for what was supposed to be a place of rest and recovery.

Her blue eyes scanned the room, locking onto a familiar head of copper hair - now back to normal instead of Friday's blond - and there was no attention wasted left or right as she stormed forward, maybe dodging a few other visitors, headed directly towards Prometheus's bed. He was awake, she noted without conscious effort, looking a little battered but not too damaged, and currently trying to catch a chocolate frog. The fact that he also appeared to be talking to someone went skillfully ignored.

"Prometheus!" she called when she was only a few steps away, her eyebrows drawn together, expression worried. "How are you? I saw you faint - I swear, next time I see him, I'll hex him into Hades." Dee's eyes narrowed, flashing at the thought, her outrage returning in waves. "He should hope there are many witnesses around, it might gain him some mercy." Then her expression smoothed out a little, eyebrows quirking up in a somewhat questioning, slightly amused expression. "That was a terrible duel, though. What were you doing?"

She'd reached the bed at some point in between and straightened up, bouncing slightly on her feet, when the bubble that was her attention and had so far only been big enough for Ruka widened a little, and she finally realised who he'd been talking to.

Dee blinked. "Ileen?" she asked, tilting her head to one side, questioning. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes scanned her friend, eyebrows rising at the notebook in her hands, the bun her hair was slung into. "You look very... proper."

Interacting with | @Ruka Burnett-Tân | @Ileen Knight

I failed my team That was Katrina's first thought as she regained consciousness. There wasn't that moment of waking up, that cushion from reality that she had experienced before. It was more like a light switch, Katrina was out, and then she was back again. Sure, there was a headache, but for the most part, she wasn't any worse for the wear.

Katrina hadn't been the hospital wing too many times before. Once when she broke her arm, once when she hurt her ankle, after the blossomball she had spent two days, but this was different. She didn't have a valid excuse to even be in there. She hadn't really taken any damage at the duel, she looked over, noticed her teammate was out, was hit by the blindfold and just… fainted. Guilt rose up, burning her cheeks bright red.

Katrina pushed herself to more of a sitting position. She had a bit of healing knowledge, as far as she knew, there was no reason she should be unconscious. If she wasn't so embarrassed, she would just creep out of the bed and find Bridget, maybe talk to her, ask her if there was something she'd missed. Some spell that would have made since to why she had passed out. But she was so embarrassed she didn't even have the energy to walk out. She had a headache though, from passing out most likely, or just stress, so she didn't leave the bed. She propped herself and crossed her legs staring down at her hands.

There were a few other people around. Concerned friends, possibly a few that were a little more than friends. Disheveled hair, rightfully frustrated expressions, sympathy being dealt out. It was pleasantly quiet. Although, Katrina couldn't appreciate that. She was just dwelling.

She had done so poorly. She had only managed to have one offensive spell hit it's mark. ONE SPELL. She was a third year, she knew how to cast spells. She had done so numerous times and SWAG games and the Chess Tournament and at the balls. She had studied for weeks, practicing every chance she got. She had been confidant, so stupidly confidant. Katrina wanted to scream, to go to sleep and try the day over again. All of her strategy had just gone down the drain.

Katrina felt like such a failure.

Open to Interactions if you want to deal with Grumpy Kat | Referring to this duel

Interacting with @Ruka Burnett-Tân @Dealla Prince Observing everyone else

Duelling. Something he had discovered recently. In the way of school sports, it seemed infinitely superior to Sky Football. Certainly a more suitable method of showing one's proficiency in magic. He had attended the duels as a spectator, choosing the Hufflepuff match since it was through his House that he had heard about the Dueling Club. A good choice; the match had been very interesting though not for the reasons he'd first assumed.

Now he was standing just inside the doors of the Hospital Wing, peering around the area he had yet to visit, looking for signs of the boy he had hoped to talk to. The growing group of students around a single bed revealed the target of his interest though it caused him to hesitate, considering. After a long moment of watching the erupting chaos, he quietly approached the group, looking for a space to slip between them as they chattered at each other, noting that only one of them seemed to also be there to speak to Ruka.

"煩い... (noisy)" he muttered as he edged closer, studying the boy and two girls who had crowded around Ruka. Being late to the party, he only caught Dealla's words and they made his brow furrow. Prometheus? Hades? Was the girl Greek? Fascinating, though not what he had come here to discover. Though it seemed by what she had said to Ruka, that what had made him curious was true. His partner had tried to cast a spell at him during the duel.

He finally got a look at Ruka and his eyes widened slightly in amusement. "弟 (Brother)." He said with delight, mostly to himself. "わかります (I understand)." He didn't stare quite so much at the bright red hair as he had when he'd met Jack but the colour still amused and fascinated him.

"So your partner did try to attack you." He spoke to Ruka, keeping his voice to a quieter tone than the other students chattering around him. "Is that a common tactic in duels? Is there some benefit to eliminating your own partner?"

Interacting with
@Henry Knight @Rose Moon @Dealla Prince @Kazuo Shimada @Ileen Knight

Still cackling lightly to himself, Ruka shook his head at the boy who had approached him, eyes glazed over as he tried his best to figure out what to focus on first. "Sorry," he said slowly, but before he could elaborate on what he was apologising for, Ruka heard another vaguely familiar voice, his head turning in the right direction to seek out the girl who had called for his attention.

"Rose," he answered with something like delight in his voice. They didn't know each other well, but Ruka knew her as a fellow duellist, and the fact that he wasn't the only one who had lost his duel made him feel a bit better about his defeat. "Absolutely crushed. You guys haven't been doing any better then?" Clearly not, otherwise Rose would not have been in the Hospital Wing, lying in a bed to cure out whatever her Duelling opponents had put her through.

He didn't really have a long time to focus on his Team mate, however, because another familiar voice filtered through the noise and demanded his attention almost immediately. He directed his gaze past the girl the other boy had called Ileen, a little smile spreading on his face as he saw the newest arrival approaching him determinedly. The name she used for him as if it was actually his made a delighted laugh bubble from his slightly aching chest, and he sat up straighter as if that would bring him in any way closer to her more quickly.

"Aphrodite," he greeted fondly, unable to keep the smile off his face even as she continued to rant about how Zykeal better be prepared to be hexed into Hades. It was admirable with which dedication she stuck to the theme of Greek deities under which they had met.

Once done with letting off some steam about his duelling partner and her recent Ball date, Dealla focused instead on the disaster their duel had turned out to be, amusement softening her features and making him laugh lightly. "I wish I knew," he said, lifting a hand to rub across his forehead. The many voices around him certainly did not help his headache. "Let myself get too distracted, I guess. Not a mistake I'm thinking of repeating." He chuckled lightly, absentmindedly reaching the hand that had not just caught the chocolate frog out to motion for Dealla to come and sit with him.

Before he could beckon her any closer, however, she had turned her focus on Ileen, clearly familiar with the other girl and seemingly surprised to see her there. "You guys know each other?" he asked curiously before waving the chocolate frog in Dealla's direction. "Ileen got me some chocolate. Best nurse ever." He grinned brightly before biting off a piece of the chocolate frog. The thought of eating something that was somehow alive still made him feel uneasy but he had gotten good at telling himself that it was only a spell that gave the chocolate the ability to move at all.

Despite wanting to keep his focus on Ileen and Dealla for a moment, Ruka was yet again confronted with another voice, not a familiar one this time, as a black haired boy approached him as if that had been his goal, as if he had come to the Hospital Wing with the sole intention of talking to Ruka.

The question he asked was delivered in a quiet voice and Ruka found himself grateful. At least this boy wasn't contributing to his headache. "None that I've been made aware of," he answered with a shrug, tilting his head to the side questioningly as he mustered the other boy. "Do we know each other?" he asked, humming as if trying to remember if he had seen the other boy before. "Or were you just curious to know what was going on in that duel?" He genuinely couldn't tell if the other boy had really wondered about Zykeal's intentions and whether they were in any way beneficial to the duel, or if he was just teasing. "You'd probably get better answers asking my partner what he was thinking - I barely even remember him trying to cast at me at all."