Winterlands Main Story December Winners PV Closed

Graphic by Leonard Oaksworth

[font=Times New Roman]Interacting With: Self
Mentioning: Possibly dead friends. And Self.

[font=Times New Roman]Action:[/font]
Slipping into unconsciousness, then proceeding to entertain Self while waiting for Self to be revived

[font=Times New Roman]Stats/Abilities[/font]
Stamina | 6 | Evasion | 5 | Strength | 8 | Wisdom | 5 | Arcane Power | 5 | Accuracy | 6
Fearless

"Wrong as in we're about to go flying off the tracks and suffer a fiery death unless we move now, or wrong as in the car was painted the wrong color?" (See my post, page 1)
Those previously stated words would likely echo throughout the remainder of Marshal's life as the most outrageous jinx of his rather unfortunate existence. Perhaps his true magical power lie in his ability to accidentally create spectacular and glorious methods of death. He would certainly have to explore the possibility later, were he to survive his most recent creation, which - considering how things had developed over the last few minutes - seemed depressingly unlikely.
If only the car had been painted the wrong color.

He found himself laying in the snow, the lack of a train car floor underneath his body quite alarming, his face working uselessly as he tried to remember just how he had ended up there. His mind had been jarred, the memories of what had happened blurring intensely through the constant buzz of pain, originating from somewhere in his leg, though he lacked the awareness to pinpoint the exact location.
He heard more than remembered the knocking - a warning to evacuate; or was that knocking merely from the throbbing in his head? His thoughts splintered once more as his body was racked with violent tremors, born from cold and shock. A weak cry of pain escaped his lips, unbeknownst to him, though any person nearby might hear the pathetic sound as his body fought to hold onto consciousness.
Another memory streaked through his mind, sudden as a shooting star; chaos... the train being boarded... a sense of excitement prevailing over that of fear as he learned the attackers were... cowboys?
"Gah..." he grunted softly, one hand grasping aimlessly as he tried to grab hold of reality, tried to drag himself back to it. He could feel the snow between his fingers, could sense the cold of it, yet he was too numb to truly feel it.
His hazel eyes opened as he remembered broken windows, the train car being thrown from the track, his body rolling helplessly as he was unable to hold on...
All he could see was an empty stretch of white. Was that the sky?

A bolt of fear jolted through him. Where was everyone else? Had they held on, or had they been thrown as well, the use of their limbs rendered useless as they were tossed carelessly about like rag dolls?
The memories stopped coming, shattered by an intense pain like he had never felt before, coinciding with the pain he now felt in his lower leg.
Broken. It was broken.
He tried to sit up, but his body failed even to make the attempt.
Broken. Everything was broken.
A wave of nausea hit him like, well...
A train! That one last thought trickled through his mind, almost bringing a dazed smile to his face as he drifted into nothingness.

~~~~~~~~~~

Pain, nausea and fear. All of these things disappeared the instant he lost consciousness. In fact, he was somehow aware that it felt absolutely wonderful, like he was floating in a sea of pure bliss.
Floating? He glanced around, attempting to ascertain exactly what he was floating in. Of course he quickly discerned that the answer was nothing. He was floating in nothing, because there was nothing around him. No, scratch that - there was pink. Sprawling, endless clouds of hot pink.
"Why pink?" he exclaimed in complete displeasure to absolutely no one. "If I have to be unconscious, why is pink the one color I have to look at?" He spread his arms wide and looked at the sky - the sky of pink. "If this is heaven, I'd like to go someplace else. What was the second location on that brochure? I'd like to go there."
Nobody responded, which gave him a moment to realize the amazing feat that he had accomplished; he had spread his arms. Using one hand, he pinched the opposite arm. A flare of nothing erupted in the spot he had pinched. He was still entirely numb.
"Well, this is spectacular!" he grouched to no one once more. "Stuck in an endless void of cotton candy, and-" He grasped at the nearest pink cloud, but felt nothing. "I can't even eat it." If nobody was listening, then he supposed he was speaking to himself. He shrugged. That wasn't terribly unusual, really.
Weaving the fingers on each hand together, he placed them behind his head and leaned back, still unsure whether he was standing up or laying down. Perhaps he was hanging upside-down? Who knew?
"I'm really glad I have you here to keep me company, Self," he said warmly, to which himself replied, "Me too! A person could easily go crazy, being all alone in a place like this."

Self and Self remained in comfortable silence for a moment before Self piped up again, "You want to hear a joke?
Sure I do!
Then here goes. What did the sleeping boy say to the boy who had been knocked out?
I don't know. What?
So this is what my unconscious mind looks like."
Normally, even Marshal would have to admit that the joke made no sense at all, but in this dream-like, drunken sort of state, he erupted into a fit of laughter.
"I kill myself."

Elena pursed her lips almost in an embrassed nervous smile as Scarlett brought up the suggestion of the perfectly simple spell that had escaped her mind. Suddenly, she felt very foolish holding a piece of cloth attempting to quell the raging inferno when all of their problems could be solved with some magic. Well, perhaps not all of them but they would at least save some lives in the process. "Right.." Elena muttered watching as the girl cast the charm but much to her horror and chagrin, the thing sputtered and fizzed before resorting to absolutely nothing. Thankfully, however, her efforts had proved effective as the flames quickly put themselves out as the combined effort of the two girls was enough to beat back the flames that lapped at Valentine's body. Still, that was a spell that had not crossed her mind and given the fiery, massive wreckage of the train, it probably would benefit them in the long run.

It was Everly next that confused her altogether. Usually, Elena would not hold back in exchanging words with the Gryffindor that she loathed ever so much but in this instance, the last thing they needed was two students going at each other throats. Her face registered confusion at first than disbelief as she realized what Everly was trying to do. She couldn't be serious, could she? There was being plain foolish and then there was this, Elena had seen it all. "Are you crazy?! There's still people in there!" The third year shouted as the incantation left her lips and she could have sworn she heard the train car's gears and machinery groan and creak a bit but thankfully, it stayed in place. Okay, they had to get out of here. If their injuries would not kill them, the cold would and it was really beginning to set in. She could already feel some of her fingers going numb from the sheer cold but very quickly, Elena Jangleton realized that the bone-chilling cold and two students who were on the brink of death if not already would soon be the least of her concerns.

The massive sound of an explosion rocketing outwards sending shrapnel towards them filled her ears and out of instinct, Elena huddled over the injured body of Jackson Valentine probaly shielding him from any debris that were flung their way but really, it had not been her intention. The shockwave from the explosion however sent her reeling forward into the snow as Elena let out a grunt of pain sitting up as she came to the realization that there was now a freshly-carved hole in the side of the train. That was not the only thing as the girl realized she had been one of the lucky ones who had been unscathed by the debris that come hurtling towards them realizing that perhaps the others had not been so lucky. There were too many..so many that needed help. Marshal was beyond assistance but one thing crossed her mind as she stood brushing off the snow on her robes.

Flutters.

He had been in the train. The train had exploded. She barely registered the arrival of the elderly gentleman who by some good fortune with his curious little machine whether it was an airplane or a automobile, Elena cared not. The only thing she cared about was that her precious pet, her only companion who gave her solace in her times of need and isolation such as now had been on the Hogwarts Express when it had exploded. "No.." She said lightly at first all thoughts of caring for those lay stricken in the snow left her mind. Elena had to get to him, she had to make sure he was alright. "FLUTTERS!" The scream left her throat hopefully loud enough to carry to the train which students were now clambering out of.

Breaking out at a run as fast as her legs would carry her, Elena made her way to the train while shaking her head. "No..no..NO!" He wasn't leaving her, not while she still had someting to say about it. Her eyes began to well up as she grappled with the realization that after today, her bird, her friend that she trusted and was her loyal guardian might not be with her after this. That had been a big implosion and that was what scared her not in control of her actions anymore barely aware of who was around her and what she was doing. She attempted to seize the front of the robes of the girl who was standing there (@Katrina Walker), her expression a mixture of panic and fear as she spluttered out the question. "Have you seen an owl?! Brown, sort of small, yellow eyes?! Tell me!"

Without barely waiting for an response, the Gryffindor pushed past the girl shouting the owl's name yet again. "FLUTTERS!" Hopefully, he would respond. The tears streaming down her face were free-roaming by now as she tried to navigate among the wreckage trying to make sense of the chaos. It was an absolute war-zone in here but Elena was not getting on that contrapation without her pet. He needed to be alive, there was no way. Her mind working on overdrive as she tried to comprehend where he had been last seen, which way was up even? Her pupils scanned the wreckage going from worried to deseprate as Elena began to come with grips with the fact she might not see the bird again.

No, impossible. He had to be here somewhere but where?

Interacting with @Meenauh Silmataurea
Open to Interactions
Mentioning: @Elena Jangleton

It must have been because of Starlee's resolve to save the two birds that her spell went off without a hitch. Finally, something was going right for once! The cage rattled in the air, with the bird inside looking scared. She continued to maintain her focus on lowering the cage until it landed delicately in her arms. She looked at the terrified bird and said, "Now don't you worry, we will find your owner soon enough. I'll just set you down while I save Borvo now." She didn't want to immediately free the bird from its cage, lest it burst out and manage to hurt itself even more than it already had been.

And then, there was a blast. Some Gryffindor down the hall cast bombarda at the side of the train, creating another opening. "What are you doing!?" she directed to the girl [Meenauh] who had just blasted the hole. "We don't want more people getting hurt!" she said, holding the unknown named birds' cage close to her. She had stumbled a little from the blast, but it seemed that everything around her stayed in place, including Borvo, who was still trapped above her.

She set the bird's cage down as gingerly as she could, hoping that someone wouldn't get another bright idea to blow up more of the train car while she attempted to save her own owl. She then returned her attention to her own bird, preparing to cast another Wingardium Leviosa. She raised her wand again, and, with confidence this time after her first success, said "Wingardium Leviosa!" In her concentration, she didn't hear the nearby calls for a certain 'Flutters.' [Elena]

Action: Setting Flutter's cage down. Casting Wingardium Leviosa on her own birds' cage to lower Borvo down.

For Moderation:
Stamina: 4 - Evasion: 5 - Strength: 6 - Wisdom: 8 - Arcane: 6 - Accuracy: 5
Abilities: Healing Sage
Health: 150/400

interacting @Thaddeus Athanatos @Evelynn Decipio @Marshal Mozor @
mentioning meenauh, everly, elena, jackson, katrina
banner by juniper yu

The brunette girl attempted to levitate the train car off Marshal's leg, and Scarlett watched in apprehension. Did Wingardium Leviosa work on large objects? She believed it depended on how much magic skill you had, and this girl was a first-year by the looks of it. Thankfully, it didn't exactly work. If it had, Scarlett was willing to bet the train would have levitated, yes, but only for it to come crashing down once again, possibly injuring herself, Elena, the girl, Jackson, Marshal (again) and everyone still inside the train...which wouldn't be the best outcome. Elena voiced those thoughts for herself and Scarlett winced, turning to the girl. "Yeah, Wingardium Leviosa isn't the best option for lifting trains," said Scarlett with a small quirk of her mouth, a smile of sorts.

Scarlett gripped her wand tighter in frustration, the handle digging into her palm. Her Extinguo had failed, but thankfully Elena's efforts and Jackson's trashing had quelled the flame. Sometimes the unorthodox method could succeed when the obvious one had failed. Still, it didn't boost her self-esteem in the spell-work area a lot. She let out a sigh through her teeth, turning to Elena and-

BANG.

A few people let out some small shrieks and Scarlett staggered backwards. Shrapnel flew at them from the train and Elena, Jackson and another girl with black hair managed to leap out of the way. Scarlett and the first-year (and Marshal, obviously) weren't so lucky. She got hit with a smattering of the stuff and she stumbled further back in surprise, touching her shoulder. She felt a bit of blood there. It wasn't serious, but there were bruises where the shrapnel had hit as well as some blood. Scarlett marched forward, glaring daggers at the girl who had created the explosion. Why the hell did she feel the need to do that? There was already a freaking exit!

"There's already an exit door you know!" yelled Scarlett. "Didn't need to hit us with shrapnel to get out!"

More things were happening now - Scarlett whirled round at the sound of Elena shouting, but the third-year had already disappeared back into the train. And then a massive plane landed - a plane! - and a man stepped out. Scarlett gaped as he introduced himself as Thaddeus Athanatos. He said to get in the 'car' (ugh, what an idiot), and that they would help the young students. Athanatos...she knew that name. Some random Healer at St. Mungo's and...he shared the same last name as that guy! The guy who had told them about the train! A father, or at least a relative perhaps?

Scarlett barely noticed the cold, until a loud voice she identified as Katrina's started shouting about it. She had grown up in London and went to school in Scotland for Merlin's sake, and though she was heading to talk or reply to Katrina, Decipio arrived at the scene, skidding to a halt alongside Scarlett, the other girl and Marshal. Jackson - Scarlett noticed - was limping towards Thaddeus Athanatos. Though it was tempting to follow, Scarlett had to help Marshal. She wasn't leaving a friend - friend? positive acquaintance? - to die alone in the snow. Marshal was now unconscious, but Decipio had checked his pulse, and judging by her lack of reaction, it wasn't bad.

"Decipio, do you know anything we can do?" asked Scarlett. "You need to calm down - Marshal - Marshal will be fine. He's alive, right?" She ignored her own quick restricted breathing. "Look, I can do something."

She waved her wand and hurriedly said, "Ferula."

action shout at people, cast ferula on marshal
stats stamina 7 | evasion 6 | accuracy 7 | strength 6 | wisdom 6 | arcane power 9
abilities prodigal charms learner, fearless

────── ☆ ───────

|| Open to Interaction ||
interacting with anyone inside and with Pierre

Alan would luckily be able to free himself for some reason, possibly adrenaline as he could hear the blood rushing through his veins or at least he thought he might be able to hear it. As soon as he had pulled himself upwards into the middle way, muscles aching, he looked around practically wheezing. His eyes a darkened green as if clouded by smoke, specks of even darker green would gather around his pupils (yes, metamorph) as he scanned the area in an attempt to make out shapes. The further explosion had caused shrapnel and metal scraps to spew around, dust raising. Alan would find a shape on the ground, surrounded by people as he made his way over, ignoring the sharp talons that pierced his skins like little burns. He was looking for his wand and found it only after a few moments in the depth of his pocket, fumbling to get a good grasp on it before kneeling down to Pierre, a kid he knew well; more or less. "Please, please, please..." he muttered silently as he tried to pull at his focus, making sure to remember the procedure of healing before he would give a small nod and a flick of his wand. "Reparifors," he hushed out, pleading for this to be a success as he stared at the Keeper's unconscious form. It always had to be Pierre who was knocked out, was it? He had seen him fall at least three times by now and Alan wasn't sure whether he liked this trend the younger kid had going. "We need to get him out of here, we all need to get out of here," he had the others know and instantly corrected himself.

Action
Reparifors on Pierre (-5 to DC bc Metamorph)

@Scarlett Aden | @Marshal Mozor
January 3rd, 2021.
#b76e79

Whoops a daisy.

She frowned. “Well,” Everly said, full-on about to present facts and opinion when it turned out she didn’t need to.

Something was going on in the train. An explosion and things flying everywhere caused her to stumble back, taking in a sharp breath which she immediately regretted. Elena and another girl somehow dodged the explosion. Good for them.

Everly had somehow frozen in shock, everything happening so quickly that she took some steps to control herself. She was hit by the shrapnel, and the redhead and the other unfortunate first year too, who seemed to have been knocked out from the explosion. Why did someone do that, anyway? There were plenty explosions going on, they didn’t need to add to it.

“Urgh,” she groaned, “why is everyone trying to kill everyone else now? Don’t we have enough murderers already?” Everly bent down next to the boy as the older student cast Ferula. “I don’t know any healing spells but.. um, I can try to stop the bleeding,” Everly said, tearing off a bit of her cloak and attempting to stop the bleeding. She shivered visibly, rubbing her hands together for warmth.

A large sound made her look up, and Everly’s face scrunched up in confusion as the large... airplane-thingamabob landed. More explosions?

The guy introduced himself, and said he wanted to help, but Everly was already on her edge and didn’t trust a word he said. “Hmph,” she said, glaring, taking several steps back.

ACTION: complain about stuff, use cloak bits to stop bleeding, glare at airplane-thingamabobs
sta 6 | eva 7 | str 0 | wis 7 | arc 4 | acc 6
seer
health: 150/600

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Interactions: @Alan Vanes @Katrina Walker
Mentions: @Piérre Marchonné's body, Evelynn Decipio

As she sat next to the boy’s unmoving body, Calanthe felt her head do revolutions around herself. Maybe sitting still was not the best choice, but the girl did not want to risk standing or moving anymore, for fear of collapsing just like the body next to her. The adrenaline keeping her mind straight while talking to Katrina had worn off, replaced by a rapid descent into concussion. The explosion to her right did nothing to ease the disorientation, and Calanthe released a string of curses when she looked to see a student pointing her wand at a new exit. She was not sure if she should be happy that the commotion did not signal the return of the Stetsons, or pissed off at the girl making things objectively worse.

First it was hot - an overwhelming heat that brought Calanthe’s arms to shield her face, the boy’s body forgotten. Then it was cold. Harsh and biting, the feral winter made further progress into the train car, blasting their empty corner with a chilling breeze. Why don’t people think before they do? She accepted Katrina’s robes, listening to her words, but not fully hearing. The presence of a prefect registered somewhere in her brain, but she was gone as soon as she arrived.

Spreading the robe over the body, she pulled her own around her petite frame. “What about you-?” but Katrina was already gone too, striding off like a superhero off to save victims. These days, Calanthe rarely found herself caring for others. She could barely keep up with taking care of herself. Yet, she felt worry for Katrina who braved the cold without a second thought. And she felt worry for the boy, who was beginning to look familiar. A long stuffed-away memory of spin the bottle resurfaced in her haze, and some guy looking just like this one wearing Luigi pajamas took the starring role.

The arrival of an upperclassman was all Calanthe needed to relax her stiff body and lean her head on the wall-roof. Someone with that much more experience ought to know what to do. But the incantation for the healing charm left his lips and Calanthe drew forward sharply. In her state, she had no idea why Katrina’s Reparifors failed, no recollection of anything taught in her classes. Would I know? Healing is a third year thing, right? All she knew was that Kat successfully cast the blasted spell and nothing happened.

“Fuck. Reparifors, we tried that already … Kat did it. It was blue.” She tried focusing on the upperclassman’s face, blinking tightly to stop her world from spinning. Too little sanity to be bewildered by his choice of spell. “Didn’t work. Do you have something else?” And before she could rest her back once more, the upperclassman continued. “Out into the freezing cold? Is that the best idea?” she tried focusing on the upperclassman’s face, blinking tightly to stop her world from spinning.

Action: Nada.
STA:10 | EVA:5 | STR:2 | WIS:7 | ARC:9 | ACC:9
Statistically Revelant (+2 Stamina) | Prodigal DADA

────────────────────── 𝒜 ──────────────────────

Interacting With: @Rafael D'Spacito | @Calanthe Choi
Mentioning: Evelynn Decipio | Pierre
In the area of: Anyone inside the train?
Open to interactions
Hex Color: #FF4080
The 'fit
────────────────────── 𝒜 ──────────────────────

For Moderation:

Action: Try to find anyone who needs help, try to find more ways out of the train, Ferula at Pierre
Health: 400/500
Abilities: Lovely Creature | Fearless | Terrible Presence
Stats: Stamina 5 | Evasion 10 | Strength 5 | Wisdom 9 | Arcane Power 10 | Accuracy 7

Decipio lowered herself through the open door, which Ana found surprising. Could she not have gotten out through the window? Why would anyone choose to relegate themselves to this part of nightmare that was this train ride?

"Rafa, can you get out through the window or are you coming down?" Ana called hoarsely. She hadn't heard anything from him since she'd gone flying out of the compartment. Her thoughts immediately turned dark. No, she wasn't that unlucky, surely. And as much as Evelynn might dislike him, Ana doubted she would have left if he was in bad shape without notifying someone. Anyway, she'd said something about asking if two others were coming down. He was fine. He had to be. If he wasn't, she was going to kill him. "Rafa?"

BANG

What the hell was going on? Ana heard a loud explosion from one end of the train and her breathing quickened as her thoughts returned to that night in the forest. Terror threatened to freeze her limbs, but she kept moving. Staying still meant the worst possible outcomes flying through her mind and she couldn't handle that. There was an exit now, and she had a goal. She was relatively unharmed, but she doubted others were. Anyone else attempting to enter the train could risk destabilizing the massive metal structure, so if she could, she ought to get anyone out she could.

At the shout of Pierre's name, she focused. He was her teammate, someone she knew and didn't dislike (which was rare), she could help. She followed Evelynn into his compartment and found another girl checking his pulse.

"Why the bloody hell would she try Reparifors? That's magical injuries, I don't think an acrobatic train qualifies," Ana declared, unable to resist the urge to be a know-it-all even as she knelt by him. "The only other healing spell I know is Ferula, it bandages, so I imagine that'd do a bit of good. I'm nearly certain fourth years have learned more useful healing spells. We ought to get him somewhat stable before trying to move him."

Whether or not the unfamiliar girl or Decipio paid much heed to her words was none of her concern. Giving her wand an anxious twirl before wrapping her fingers about it, she inhaled sharply and tried the best she could to focus. Her spells had a tendency to backfire when she got emotional and she didn't need that at that moment. "Ferula!" she said sharply as her wand moved deftly.

Action: leave the train (temporarily) and go inspect Marshall to find what exactly requires to be healed.