The Lady of the Wood Ravenclaw Murder Thread Finished

Mentioning: @Nell Zoldak, @Dealla Prince, @Winnie Harper, @Vladimir Athanatos

As Cade drew himself further into the forest, he felt his pulse pump faster and faster as he pursued Vladimir and the girls. His spirit was mildly emblazoned by the strength in numbers. But that courage hadn't lasted long. As they ran after Vladimir, the older Ravenclaw threw a spell past Cade, squarely hitting Nell in the chest and sending her to fly far backward out of the trees. "Nell!" Cade stopped short to turn and look back. He squinted trying to make out a sign of life from her form.

But the ground stirred underneath him and he realized he couldn't stay where he was. He watched as the others went deeper in the trees and decided to follow. "Athanatos! I know you're scared but you don't have to hurt anyone." Cade called ahead, his voice breathless from the effort. Cade actively avoided the rolling roots of the trees, ducking away from the reaching branches. "Winnie! Come back, we need to stay together." But the effort seemed fruitless. And Cade could barely catch up. It was dark and scary and he felt more alone than ever. Gripping his wand, Cade breathed about to cast at Vladimir, but the boy in question shouted Flippendo before Cade could open his mouth. The spell backfired and sent him further into the trees.

Cade stood frozen, affronted that Vladimir would try to attack him. But then he noticed a beam of bright light from somewhere behind him. And he narrowed his eyes, squinting to where Dealla stood. "Winnie, Cade! Come back!" He could just make out her voice. "You'll die, you can't win against the forest!" She was right, he needed to get out of here. But he worried after Winnie and Vladimir. He would note the direction Vladimir had fallen back in then turned on his heels and ran towards where Dealla was. But he noticed all manner of life in the forest seemed to be bearing down on her. Cade watched in panic as Dee lept around evading the vermin with a bad snare caught on her ankle.

Cade considered his options the spells in his repertoire, he knew nothing that would go against trees without starting a forest fire. And that was not what he wanted. Pointing his wand at the sky he would do his best to draw attention to the danger in the forest. Perhaps draw the eyes of wizards more powerful that could come to their aid. "Vermillious!" With that, he would turn towards his teammate, eyes wide. "Dee, are you okay?" He wanted to be sure that she could handle herself before following her advice and escaping out of the forest.

Action: Casting Red Sparks above Dealla and staying close to protect her

Being fashionably late was something Callie had made into an artform. Unintentionally of course but it was best not to let others in on that annoying little secret. Truthfully the girl almost never came to the forests edge thanks to the lingering fear that the incident in Ravenclaw tower had left her. Much to her own fustration, Callie couldn't shake the incident which played over and over in her head on a regular basis. No matter how much time passed since being sish kebabed the fear refused to leave, so much so that she'd even started wearing contact lenses. Callie Jensen! Wearing contacts? It was a disaster waiting to happen.

Speaking of disasters, Callie had attended summer camp in the first place to pursue some degree of normality. Well, as normal as spending time with Thomas Baines and the rest of Hogwarts could be. Until all of this mess started up again and that irritating fear decided to take root in her stomach again. Originally she was going to stay put but then she took notice of Thomas' absence and the fear that something might happen to him overtook her own.

So the girl took off without much thought cutching her wand as tightly as she could...only to find nobody at the edge. "Don't panic.." She mumbled to herself in a half-hearted attempt to keep a level head. It was rather hard to keep a level head when the only logical conclusion was that people had entered the forest already, which didn't seem safe at all. "Alright, help. We'll need that...presumably." She mumbled to nobody in particular yet again before aiming her wand upward. "Periculum!" This time Callie wasn't willing to run into things entirely blind....but the thought of Thomas eventually overran her good judgement. "Urgh, stupid boys!" So, regardless of if her spell suceeded or not, she ran into the forest afterwards with the intent of tracking down the others.

Action: Red sparks charm, run into forest regardless of outcome afterwards if she's able.
Abilities: Calming Presence [Ravenclaw Students] | Prod Charms | Spell Spread
Stats: Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 8 | Strength: 3 | Wisdom: 12 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 11
If I've read things wrong feel free to chase me with pitchforks

mentioning: @Cade Darkbound @Vladimir Athanatos

interacting with: no one

outfit | rings

Nell felt a blast launch her out of the forest. When she opened her eyes again she was outside of the forest. Out of the loop yet again. She stood up, receiving a lot of pain in the process. The spell had really done some damage. She felt stupid, she felt naive. Nell should've never blindly followed Cade into the forest just because he may have had more knowledge than her. Vladimir (she caught onto his name) was much more powerful than she thought. And dangerous.

She had to decide now. Would she go back into the forest and try to help, or would she stay at the very edge and watch as disaster came? The answer, when the question was worded like that, was blatantly obvious. Nell took out her wand to make sure there was no damage, and thankfully there wasn't. She was sure that she'd cracked a rib or something, but it was all manageable. With that she began her trek back into the forest.

It was dangerous, going back in. But, she couldn't stand by and do nothing, could she? Nell was quiet; her steps took her lightly and quickly through the trees of the forest. She squinted, looking for some light or silhouette of a student in the darkness as she walked farther. Had she gone past everyone? Her suspicion was proved wrong as she heard voices ahead.

Oh, how naive she was to go to summer camp thinking nothing would happen.

August 8th, 2021

Lavinia was determined to have Bloom out of the forest so much that adrenaline coursed through her. Bloom didn’t really stand a chance to Lavinia’s motivation causing her to be dragged from the forest. She couldn’t let her friend get injured and didn’t want her inside of the forest. Looking back at Bloom though, she could tell that dragging her out might have been the selfish move.

“I’m sorry Bloom I just can’t see you hurt and thought that Aurora was getting Winnie out.” she said quickly to try and rationalize with Bloom. All of a sudden though, more and more people went into the forest. “Why are they going in!?” she said incredulously to herself. How could they not see the inevitable danger that the forest held.

“I didn’t think anyone else would go in” she whispered worriedly to Bloom and herself. Maybe the Vladimir guy meant something to them like Bloom did to Lavinia but why would they all risk their lives like that. Couldn’t they see that the forest was obviously moving and super dangerous to be in? As much as Lavinia wanted to get her other friends out of there, she knew it was useless. She couldn’t see them from outside the forest anymore and was already intensely scared.

“Bloom, I think I used up all of my bravery trying to get you out.” she stated truthfully to her companion. Lavinia had used up most of it coming here and then she had a sudden burst when saving Bloom but that was probably not going to happen again. “There is no way I can go back in there, I’m just so scared of it” she said shakily to Bloom. Her voice had quivered a bit while saying it and it worried her that she might lose all the progress she had made.

For the past months Lavinia had been trying to open up and be more adventurous. The thing was, it was events like this that had made her so afraid in the past and that was when she only heard of them. Now here she was, seeing one happen first hand knowing that there was very little she could do to help out.

“I don’t think I can leave though, some of the people in there are my friends and I don’t want to just abandon them.” Lavinia was trying to as honest as she could with Bloom and it wasn’t that hard in these circumstances. Suddenly she heard screams coming from the forest and took that as a bad sign. Eyes wide, her mouth moved faster than she had time to collect her thoughts, “Did you hear those screams, what’s going on, are people hurt.” due to her being so worried, her thoughts were just coming out of her mouth with no real filter.

Taking a minute to think things over, she came to a solid conclusion about what she wanted to do. Looking back at Bloom, she let the words come out, “Okay, ok, I have an idea, since I can’t go back in there, what if the two of us wait out here for people to come out of the forest. Then we can help get them to safety since those are definitely not screams of joy.” Lavinia took a deep breath and then continued on. “I just want to feel like I’m actually doing something rather than hearing my friends screams.”

Truth be told, without a purpose or another person to hold her accountable, Lavinia would have fled the sight. She didn’t want to show her newer friend that she wouldn’t help others. This was Lavinia’s only chance at trying to make a difference in the situation. Listening closer, she noticed that Lumos was being cast by a few people. “I know it’s only like 2 pm right now but, I can hear some people casting lumos in there, maybe I should just cast it so that we can see people coming out and they can have a light to go to.” she stated, hoping that her spell would help.

Turing to the forest, she took out her wand and loudly said, “Lumos Maxima.”

Action: Staying outside of forest and casting Lumos Maxima

Terrible Presence

Sta - 5 | Eva - 8 | Str - 5 Wis - 8 | Arc - 4 Acc - 10

Evasive Maneuvers

Interacting with :
The Spider?????
Mentioning :
@Pericles Dralt @Winnie Harper

The face of the nightmare finally showed itself to Aurora. Aimed for her face, but caught her upper arm instead. It was not any better. The shock, the terror, the pain were out of this world. For a second, she was pretty sure her arm was completely decapitated by the arachnid. But then it was everywhere, spreading like wildfire. She tried to scream for help, but nothing came out of her mouth. At least that was what she thought. To everyone around her, her wail was full of agony, it was louder than her usual chocolate screaming, or just any shouts she did in general. This was different, it was the kind of scream that would speak right to the heart. Even those who had never been in this kind of situation before might realised the torment she was in right that moment.

Was it worth it to follow the curiosity from one mysterious letter? Definitely not. Combat was the last thing she would do on her list, never was ready, and certainly not the kind of summer camp the girl signed up for. No one would possibly help, even the one she thought would help, ran away from the beginning of the catastrophe, only God knew what he decided to do besides staying with the other. A wand and her fist, possibly a kick, were the only reliable things at that moment, or perhaps, forevermore. Her tapestry to the sanity was shredded all over the place. Like a person who just woke up from surgery, now everything felt unreal. Some extra time was needed for Aurora to process what just happened to her. The letter, Lucifur to Carrington, the forest, Pericles, then he bailed, and the spider. That damn horrid spider. The next thing she knew was a wand pointed straight at the spider, not remembering the other person nearby, not even Winnie, nor the other innocent creatures that were not even participating in the attack. With all her distraught condition, she shouted the spell with the intention to kill, not one, not two, everything. “INCENDIO DUO!”

Action Just screaming and Incendio Duo the spider

Outfit Reducio Without mask and sunglasses

Interacting with | @Vladimir Athanatos | @Cade Darkbound
Open to interactions.

It didn't take much to enter the forest. Just a few steps, carrying Dealla from light to shadows, her eyes frantically scanning the trees for her peers. Not friends, exactly, and just half a year ago she wouldn't have entered the forest and put herself in danger to save them. Now she felt she had to.

The light exploding from her wand helped a little, both with her pounding heart and making out what was going on. Vladimir kept attacking other students, although with presumably good intentions. Or well, with the intention of getting them out of the forest. Good was debatable. It backfired this time, throwing himself back instead of Cade, and Dee rolled her eyes.

"Stop slinging spells and do something against your bleeding foot!" she yelled at him. He should know the bandaging charm, right? What year was he, fourth? Fifth? She wasn't sure. Older than her. "Do you want everyone to end up like you?" Cursed, with black blood, slowly deteriorating. Not quite like him, though, but Dealla didn't realise at that moment.

She had more to say - didn't she always - but she'd known walking into the forest would come with consequences, so when the trees lashed out, she was prepared, slipping out of the vines' grasp before they could get a good hold on her. In doing so, however, she'd missed the root that was ready to snare her, yanking her off her feet. Dealla went down with a shrill shriek that cut off when she hit the ground hard, catching herself on her elbows to retain the grip on her wand. For a moment she lay stunned, blinking to adjust to the new perspective, to comprehend the frantic movement of the forest ground. She'd always assumed the trees' attacks were intentional, targeted. From down here, the movements seemed more like agitated fidgeting.

There was no time for more observation, more thinking, she had to get back to her feet. Scrambling, she tried to push herself up, but didn't get far before she saw the branch bearing down on her. Reflex or intent?

Abandoning her effort to get up, Dealla attempted to twist out of the way, only to have the branch slam down on her back, throwing her forward and back onto the ground. She gasped as pain exploded down her back, half-stunned, tears springing to her eyes. Still the forest's attacks didn't cease (thanks Tatsu). A choked noise escaping as she saw the creature coming for her, slightly blurred, she only barely managed to roll out of the way, curling up to make herself less of a target.

Aurora had managed to get Winnie back to the forest's edge, that was one concern down. Cade, however, stubbornly remained inside the trees' shadows, now next to her. She appreciated the gesture, in an abstract way, but right now, he posed a distraction, keeping her from focusing fully on saving herself.

"I'm okay," she replied, more lie than truth, and flapped her free hand in his direction even as she aimed her wand at the root that held her. "Go away, get out, I'll be right with you. Stop anyone else from coming in. Please don't get eaten by rats." A deep breath, trying to gather her focus, then she attempted to cut the root away. "Diffindo."

Action | Cast Diffindo at the root holding her

Stats
Sta 6 | Eva 11 | Str 3 | Wis 10 | Arc 6 | Acc 10

Evasive Maneuvers | Charmer | Perfectionist
Allies: All Ravenclaws except Vladimir

450/600 HP

Hexcode= #507091

The destruction of the shadow spider was only the first part of his spontaneous 3 part plan to save the day though he would have to come up with remaining two thirds just as quickly as he had come up with the first. Pivoting on his heels and setting himself into motion away from the edge of the woods, Sylvain's attention turned from the shadows attacking Thomas to the vines ensnaring Dealla. A sight that brought back the exact same feelings that had flooded him the first time he had attempted to save her and Pericles. "Everyone, PLEASE, stay out of the forest. Group up on me. Keep your wits about you and try to leave your wand lights on for any of the others."

Sparks were no good to them if they threatened to catch the forest on fire. He had learned, the hard way, that sparks could even singe his friends. Despite the fact that the Sun-light charm was good at dispersing the shadows as they cropped up, their dispersal only managed to give way to more shadows. Shadows which seemed to multiply exponentially with each moment. His light was but one on its lonesome. No, if they were to defeat the darkness together, it would take the concentrated brilliance of their entire house. If they were to escape this one alive how was he supposed to organize them into a force to be reckoned with? There were already so many who were content to run off and face their fears alone, but Sylvain would stand. Someone still needed him.

From where he stood, it was easy to see that Dee was snared by something, though what he could not tell. He thought that perhaps it was vines, vines just like the last time. It was also fairly obvious to him now that Thomas was trying to make the shadow spiders fly. Oh merciful dice gods please do not give him this win. Once Pericles had run away to get help, Winnie and Aurora not that far behind him, he was left to his own devices to be responsible for the others. Cade had stayed to help, bless his heart, and though it appeared that Callie had showed up to help too she also seemed to have her heart dead set on sprinting into the forest without a plan. Why was it that they were always running headfirst into danger without thinking about how they could deal with it afterwards? It probably had a lot to do with them being children.

It was during that same thought that an idea then struck him. All this time, he had practically been begging his housemates not to set the woods on fire. Demanding them not to catch each other on fire or otherwise worse, he had putting out any of the flames they had made himself. Perhaps the only answer left was the one he'd been denying this entire time. Fire. Thus he had determined his second step. If what they needed was to see his fire, then he would change his mind and become Ravenclaw's very own artillery support. Waving his wand at the trees assailing Dealla, and with no doubt that Cade would feel it too, Sylvain spoke aloud the incantation for Bluebell Flames. "Caeruleus Inflamarae!"

There's a saying that if anyone at Hogwarts knows how to throw a party it's House Ravenclaw. Syl had first hand experience that it was true because Ravenclaw parties just didn't stop, and this Ravenclaw party clearly wasn't going to stop until the forest was on fire. One way or the other. At least this way he could claim he was flaming responsibly.

Action: Casting Bluebell Flames on the tree attacking Dealla

Calming Presence- An aura of calm. Allies (Ravenclaw House) gain a 10% chance to auto-hit their chosen target. This does not stack.

Mentions @Pericles Dralt @Dealla Prince @Cade Darkbound

OoC Note: Apologies for the short reply, work has knocked me down a bit this week. Hopefully I'll post a better response for the next round!

───The woods were creaking and groaning as the nightmarish creatures swiped at the foolish youngsters that had followed one of their own into the forest. For a split second, Winnie thought that perhaps this was the end, especially if she were unable to wriggle free from Aurora’s spell. She had stupidly believed she would at least make it a bit further into the forest before being knocked down. Thump, thump, thump. What was that sound? Thump, thump, thump. Was it the trees? No, it was the sound of her heartbeat ringing in her ears. Thump, thump, thump. MERLIN! Why was she still in the air?! She couldn't help but released a wrangled cry when the stone attempted to pierce her. She received mercy once more, as the floating had finally been to her advantage. For now. Her gaze flickered over the roof of the forest down to the undergrowth. Was Vladimir still close by? She needed to get her dorm mate out of this place, but she also didn't fancy getting a spell thrown at her again. She could hear the faint call of Dee's voice.

More shouting filtered in. Aurora threatening to eat her? No, that wasn’t right. She could faintly hear the girl over the sound of her heart pounding, adrenaline racing through her veins. “... AURORA! LET ME DOWN!” She would shout her friend's name again as if it would jolt her into focusing. It would seem only Pericles possessed that sort of power, however. That was fine with Winnie, because soon enough she was safely back on the ground. Wait, safely? Not quite, but at least one obstacle was out of the way. Her throat felt dry, the gulps of air she took in like sandpaper.

And then it happened, a wail that seemed to ring through the night air. One of pure agony. It sent a chill down Winnie's spine and she froze in place. Who...? Who just got hit by something? It was a girl's voice, familiar, and... Aurora. "No... NO!" The words came as a scream that ripped from her throat as she ran towards the forest's edge. What was it they had said? The light! She was still sheltered by the forest's canopy, her hand still gripping her wand, she would point it at the creature attached to her classmate's arm. "LUMOS!"

Action: Casting Lumos.
Stats: Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 6 | Strength: 7 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 7
Abilities: Healing Sage & Muggle Condition

"Idiot," Thomas grumbled, though whether it was to Sylvain for destroying the spider he had his eyes set on, himself for missing his cast to help Aurora, or the arachnid for dodging his spell was anyone's guess. The young Ravenclaw's temper was known to be severe after all, Callie would back up such an observation in a heartbeat, and- wait. Callie. Was that her entering the woods!? "What...? Idiot!" he declared decisively, fully ignoring the spider that Aurora hopefully had covered now.

Storming in behind Callie was a short little boy whose anger was only outclassed in this moment by his paranoia. Why did his best friend only friend? dueling partner always seem to have a way of throwing herself into danger? The hypocrisy of his train of thought hardly even crossed his mind as Thomas called out in indignant fashion, "SLOW DOWN! LET ME CATCH UP!" He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, hopefully reaching Callie's position in time before any great dangers befell either of them.

Regardless of whether or not Tom made it deep enough into the woods to find her, light meant the search would be easier, and the light probably meant relative safety in comparison to the dark. The shadows in the woods were terrifying, his fears only magnified by the fact that... Well... These particular shadows had a way of coming alive and trying to eat him!

"Lumos Solem," he cast, hoping to repel the darkness for long enough to keep himself and his friend safe. "Callie, you need to get out of here."

Action: Enter the woods, preemptively cast Lumos Solem near Callie in the hopes that it would keep the two of them relatively safe.
Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers II, Statistically Relevant
Stats: Sta 5 || Eva 12 || Str 1 || Wis 11 || Arc P 10 || Acc 10

"Nell!"

@Cade Darkbound cried as the girl flew past him, out of the woods as a result of Vladimir's flippendo. She was not dead but she was rocked by the events that had swiftly unfolded. Prone, dazed, she would make her way back to her feet slowly.

"Athanatos! I know you're scared but you don't have to hurt anyone."

Cade called out into the darkened wood. He did not understand, not really. How could he? Even the rise of the forest was somehow at the Ravenclaw's feet. The woods had gone wild and it was all Cade could do to try to avoid the tenuous grip of the forest while Vladimir moved deeper, compelled by some unseen force or objective.

"Winnie! Come back, we need to stay together."

Cade called out uselessly. She was a determined young woman and not particularly logical either. In fact none of them were, the cliches involving this house were a bunch of hooey. It was utter madness for the girl to run off on her own. Not that he had long to concern himself with his housemate's safety as Vladimir leveled his wand in Cade's direction. Like aiming the barrel of a gun at a living target, even if it did not cause the youth to pause it might give his breath and heart pause. Flippendo, yet Cade would not feel an unseen impact but rather watch as Vladimir was launched backwards, deeper into the forest and on his back like an overturned turtle.

"Winnie, Cade! Come back!" Such a small, feminine voice called out. Belonging to Dealla. Cade could just make out her voice. "You'll die, you can't win against the forest!" A logic that Cade knew to be true. left with the option to pursue or to seek out one of his own, he chose the later. Drawn by her voice he would find Dealla in dire straights. Indeed, they could not win against the forest and she was not an exception. She should have taken her own advice. All manner of life in the forest seemed to be bearing down on Dealla who was snared by the forest.
"Stop slinging spells and do something against your bleeding foot!"
Dealla shouted in Vladimir's direction.

"Just leave me alone!" He roared from somewhere deep inside of him. It came from a place of agitation, pain and urgency. He had warned them but they decided to ignore a clear warning and then had the audacity to blame him for the very events he warned them that would come to pass.

"Do you want everyone to end up like you?"

"You're going to end up dead if you keep traipsing around the forest!" Yes, 'traipsing' was the right word for it. They had no idea what they were doing but they wanted to do it in spite of warnings. Why? because they were curious. because he said not to. Because they decided that the forest was the key to their, no they were fine, salivation? He was frustrated, agitated and he did not have the luxury of being a gentleman to an invasive species.
"GeT oUt!" He bellowed, a tone of desperation in his voice.

The bickering in the forest was doing none of them any good.

"Everyone, PLEASE, stay out of the forest. Group up on me. Keep your wits about you and try to leave your wand lights on for any of the others."

Sylvain would (possibly uselessly) urge. He was right, if they were to defeat the darkness together, it would take the concentrated brilliance of their entire house. Everyone was running off on their own, attempting to snatch their personal spotlight of glory but they were not strong enough to defeat such a threat on their own.

A moment of madness had fell over the former Prefect. Sylvain had practically been begging his housemates not to set the woods on fire. Demanding them not to catch each other on fire or otherwise worse, the propensity of Hogwarts students to set every obstacle before them aflame was for a lack of a better term 'problematic.' Yet he had determined in this moment that fire was his next step.

"Caeruleus Inflamarae!"

Sylvain casts Bluebell Flames at the tree attacking Dealla.
Roll: 3 (+10)
Attack: 15 (+8)
Evasion: 12 (+5)

@Sylvain Wylt had cast Bluebell Flames in an attempt to set the tree, the forbidden wood ablaze with a fire that would not burn unlike Incendio (eyes Aurora). The tree would erupt into a glorious, bright ball of harmless blue light. The branches of the gnarled and knotted branches would be swathed in blue flame and the fire would indeed spread.

Vladimir lay on the ground, his back against the fallen pine needles and leaves as he looked up at the canopy that had turned... blue. It was quite lovely wasn't it? He was still contaminated, he was still bleeding. Still to blame, his soggy foot, his shoe filled with his own blood. the dark creatures that would escape and terrorize the Ravenclaw pursuants.

Something would wiggle free from his sock, another vestige of darkness would scurry away. Uninterested in the host, it would proliferate among the other untested vessels.

Newly Formed Spider Attacks. Target Lavinia (4)
Attack 11 (+10)
Evasion 19

It would rush out the forest's edge and head directly for the girl. She really should not have come here! But she was fast, she would move out of the way and the spider would recklessly leap past. The edge of the forest and the penumbra of the shade did little to deter the darkness that had grown stronger compared to previous encounters.

Vladimir would try to rise, perhaps attempt to stymie the bleeding but a vine would lash out and attempt to snare his arm.

Vine attempts to snare Vladimir
Attack 10 (+10)
Evasion 20 (+10) Critical success!

He would see it coming and he would snap his arm away before the vine could snare. With his free hand he would attempt to grab the vine and rip it up by its roots, let it wither and die like a worm left in the sun. "Thanks!" His eyes squinted as the brightness of the bluebell flame was overwhelming his senses.

Just outside the forest, Aurora would do something potentially foolish. The dark, gloomy spider was still latched onto her. Still injecting into her its terrible, black curse. @Aurora Rainvier would finally have something scary about her besides her personality and the terrible presence that rolled off her like a terrible miasma. A darkness would form on her arm, this blackness, almost charred quality to the site of the injury. Twisting, spreading, creeping, meandering through her veins leaving these dark streaks that would spider away from the site of origin.

A silent scream, caught choked in Aroura's throat. What came out after a brief delay was a new sound, one of anguish. The screeches and the hollars children often vocalize had a different quality. Even the sounds of juvenile rage, jealous wrath or the pain of stubbed toe. No, this was a diversion from the norm. A terrible noise, of a pain the child had not experienced deep within - throbbing, stinging, burning, spreading. A pain that could not be reached, could not be squelched.

Then the girl would do something terribly foolish. Very dangerous. Something the might regret, but she was panicked, she was foolish, she was but a child.

“INCENDIO DUO!”

A wavering voice would declare the word of power with a wrath that was laced in anguish.

Aurora casts Incendio at the shadow spider.
Roll: 20 Critical Success
Attack: 13 (+10)
Evasion: 14 (+10)

What should have created a merry little fire, the sort that would fill a cherry hearth ended up being a fireball in the girl's panic. A fireball of heat and light, enough to scorch any spider, shadow or otherwise. Only... she missed. How she missed a target that was attached to her? Well, due to the proximity, the attack was at advantage.

Advantage re-roll: 19 Success

A burst of heat, like a small bomb going off on Aurora's side would signal to anyone not paying attention that something was wrong. Of course she would not escape the incident unscathed, she had just started a fire on something immediately adjacent to her own flesh. A hot searing sensation would come over that very same limb. A limb covered briefly in fire and heat. Of pain, terrible pain but also only a sear where a curse once was.

Aurora is not presently cursed. But she did burn herself. -80

The drama and self immolation would not be a deterrent for Callie. In fact not much would be, she seemed to have a goal of entering the forest regardless of the threat or the presence of her peers. There was something about flailing trees and a leafy canopy of pure blue flame that must have attracted her.

@Callie Jensen had arrived in time to see the chaos. All she wanted to do was hang out with the somehow handsome and/or interesting like @Thomas Baines, rationality only being a rumored trait of House Ravenclaw considering the sentiment. That was why she was here, for that normalcy that comes with following your friends into dangerous situations.

There were people at the edge, those that had been tossed out such as @Nell Zoldak who was tossed out of the forest and was still regaining her balance, @Aurora Rainvier who had just 'saved' @Winnie Harper and was contending with a burnt arm sans a gloomy spider and @Sylvain Wilt who had the god-given common sense to not run into the forest when it was actively attacking.

Winnie would look around for Vladimir, as she was pulled away, out of the forest he would seem to fade. As if the forest itself had a bit of a haze to it. She had seen him launch himself back, it was not on purpose but she was too far away to see the look of utter shock and disbelief on his face. He was getting away, just a shadowy form, a silhouette in the hazy distance. He was just starting to rise from her perspective but the forest was not done with him yet.

Callie would not notice any of them. "Don't panic.." She mumbled to herself before she panicked. "Alright, help. We'll need that...presumably." She mumbled to nobody in particular yet again despite the company immediately adjacent before aiming her wand upward. "Periculum!"

Callie casts Periculum
Roll: 8 (+12)

A rocket of light would shoot into the air. The trees which were already lit with the bluebells flame safe from her signal flare as she had not yet ran into the thrashing woods. It seemed like the better option over dealing with Aurora's eccentricities admittedly, had she been there moments earlier she would have heard the girl admitting to causal cannibalism.

"No... NO!"

Winnie screamed, fleeing the last several feet out of the darkened wood towards Aurora. This might not have happened had she been out there with her friend rather than needing a forced rescue service. Yes, it was both a kidnapping and a rescue.

Winnie left the forest.

She would cross paths with Nell. @Nell Zoldiak was if nothing else stubborn. It took her a moment to regain her berrings, temporarily stunned perhaps by the flippendo that was so casually cast in her direction. She would pull herself back to her feet. Nothing was broken, just mildly disoriented and scuffed from the fall. Nothing that would leave her debilitated, only perhaps a bit sore this evening.

While that was her cue to leave, she was determined to do the opposite.

Nell has went back into the forest.

They just kept on coming into the forest, they were like roaches only they complained and blamed him. He let out a groan from the ground and with a shaking grip he would raise the wand yet again. "Can't you see I am trying to save your life!" he roared. A life that they seemed to refuse to live. One that they seemed more than happy to forfeit for no reason at all. Did they even have a reason to be here besides to defy the Ravenclaw? he was uncertain, he gritted his teeth together and spat out the overused charm to send one of them back out of the forest.

"fliPENDO!"

His voice strained as he pointed his wand and hoped that he would hit one of them.

Vladimir attempts to flippendo Nell again
Roll: 17
Attack: 13 (+10)
Evasion: 3

The past would repeat itself once again as Vladimir launched Nell back out of the forest. This time she would not have caught up to Cade, she would be many yards behind. If he looked back, he might see her. Her face when that unseen force belted her in the gut and launched her again out of the forest.

Nell was sent out of the forest (again) with the force of a flippendo.

The trees would sway. The bluebells flame would spread and the trees would become still. No tree bash action this round.

Cade was at Dealla's side when Nell was sent away. She was going to be fine, just miffed and bruised. Dealla was the one that still needed their help. Cade would point his wand towards the sky. Towards a roof of blue flames and he would cry out his word of power.

"Vermillious!"

Cade casts Vermillious.
Roll: 16 (+7)

He would sent a signal flare through the canopy that would rocket into the celestial spaces above. The light would rocket through, yes through the roof of leaves and yes a small fire, the hot burning kind, would start overhead.

Pro - Professors can see this.
Con - Cade just started a fire in the canopy.

The fire would not spread as quickly as bluebells but it was by far the more concerning of the two.

Callie did not seem to notice her peers standing at the fringe of the forest or the new fire Cade had just started. The fact that the boy she was trying to save was standing right there when she announced. "Urgh, stupid boys!" This was definitely somehow Thomas' fault. Then she would leave Thomas Baines company as the poor boy stood potentially wide-eyed and confused as she tromped into the woods to find him.

Callie enters the Forest

What was she thinking?

Was Thomas a ghost? M.Night Shyamalan could have a field day with this incident.

Running past @Thomas Baines he would make the stark revelation that Callie was in danger. It was as if she saw a pool of broken glass and decided that she needed to have a swim. Why? Merlin knows! Callie rushed past him. "What...? Idiot!" His favorite word it would seem. He was not going to be able to let her do this, whatever -this- was on her own.

Thomas enters the forest.

"SLOW DOWN! LET ME CATCH UP!"

Thomas would complain. She was running fast into the forest that was both living, thrashing, full of threats and on fire from multiple sources.

Good god Lavinia, what have you gotten yourself into. She had saved Bloom from her recklessness but she was not going to be able to save them all. they just kept going in. Vladimir was intent on moving onward, further and deeper into the forest. she would see his distant and staggering form disappear into the haze.

Those outside of the forest have lost sight of Vladimir

@Winnie Harper's hand tightly gripping her wand, she was overwhelmed with panic. Her friend was hurt, something dark had jumped out at her and bit her. Then there was fire and now the fire was gone as was the dark spider thing and her arm. Her arm was all shiny and red.

It did not matter, light fixed everyhting.

"LUMOS!"

Winnie cast Lumos
Roll: 4 (+7)

A light would struggle to form at the tip of Winnie's wand. A faint light, it was something and it was hers. It would protect. It would help?

Things were just getting worse it seemed. Dealla was still snared by the root and the ground below her would shift. she would hear a grinding noise and then...

Rock attacks Dealla
Attack 16
Evasion (disadvantage due to snare) 18, 8

She would feel it pierce her side, a sharpened stone that would stab her deeply and then exit without a ceremony. She would just feel this jarring pain, in then out.

Dealla is bleeding

“I’m sorry Bloom I just can’t see you hurt and thought that Aurora was getting Winnie out.”

Aurora was, dramatically. It would have been easier to extract her by pulling her out with a firm grip of her hand. Still, it was equally effective technically. The important part ehre was the fact that @Lavinia Cloven just apologized for saving @Bloom Silverton's life. While the girl was an upperclassman, she was not particularly studious. She had remembered what she needed to pass her exams and then she was probably thinking about @Ben Eckenrode. Why did she feel that she needed to rationalize, to validate her actions to Bloom was anyone's guess. She had just saved the upper classman from her own recklessness. Now she would have forever to think about the former masked boy's lips.

“Why are they going in!?”

Lavinia cried as she saw suicidal pre-teens rush back into the forest. Nell after being expelled, a late comer after not noticing that anyone else was at the fringe including the boy she was foolishly entering the forest for and the boy she was looking for tailing behind her. They seemed blind or indifferent to the danger that the forest held. the forest was covered in Blue Bell flame and was thrashing violently.

“I didn’t think anyone else would go in”

Lavinia whispered to Bloom. It made no sense, it defied logic. They had no particular sentiment for the youth. They had nobody left to save unless they had a love affair with getting themselves murdered or a desperate want to be saved.

“Bloom, I think I used up all of my bravery trying to get you out.”

Lavinia admitted, she had been fortunate when she recovered Bloom from the forest, they escaped unscathed. That luck would not be perennial.

“There is no way I can go back in there, I’m just so scared of it”

And why should she? They knew better and chose to enter under their own power. Those expelled, such as Nell had decided to return to the forest they had just escaped.

“I don’t think I can leave though, some of the people in there are my friends and I don’t want to just abandon them.”

But what could she do? They were not particularly bright and there was only so much herding one person would be capable of.

“Did you hear those screams, what’s going on, are people hurt.”

It was hard to see what was happening but she could see them, silhouettes at the very least. Voices belonging to the fighting forms that were in mortal combat with the forest itself.

“Okay, ok, I have an idea, since I can’t go back in there, what if the two of us wait out here for people to come out of the forest. Then we can help get them to safety since those are definitely not screams of joy.”

Lavinia reasoned. Why risk themselves perpetually for people that would refuse their efforts.

“I just want to feel like I’m actually doing something rather than hearing my friends screams.”

It was a terrible feeling, being a bystander to the torment. The contrary sentiment to rush in and save them from their foolishness but knowing that it would be an exercise in futility. They wanted to rush in, they did not even have to have a good reason. Just a story.

“I know it’s only like 2 pm right now but, I can hear some people casting lumos in there, maybe I should just cast it so that we can see people coming out and they can have a light to go to.”

She did not know why but she was able to recognize patterns, true to her Ravenclaw nature. It was better than nothing, even if she did not fully understand.

Turing to the forest, Lavinia took out her wand and loudly said “Lumos Maxima.”

Lavinia casts Lumos Maxima
Roll: 12

The tip of her wand would erupt in a bright white light. this was good? this was helping? Was she/they safer now?

In the forest, the dangers had hardly settled. A rat would see Vladimir pushing his way stubbornly through the woods and lunge at him.

Rat attack Vladimir
Attack 7 (+10)
Evasion 3 (+10)

The rat would take a large bit out of him. He would let out a roar of frustration. Blood would soak through his pants and he would pant. The black, oil-like blood would drip from him and all he could door was bring his hand to the new wound and look down in horror knowing what should come next.

The darkness never manifested into something more under the azure glow of the canopy. A grace he reasoned, he had no time to question this further. He would continue to run. Run away from their curiosity and their stubborn willfulness. Escape.

Thomas was still in pursuit of Callie. Didn't she know how dangerous it was out here? Didn't she know the best place to toss spiders into the sky was in places where the sky was clear. There were far too many branches in here.

No matter...

"Lumos Solem," Thomas would announce the incantation to a charm to make the space even brighter.

Thomas casts Lumos Solem
Roll: 14

A bright light would erupt from his wand. Yes, he was a capable caster as long as there were no spiders involved.

"Callie, you need to get out of here."

Himself as well. He urged her to turn around. What was she doing in here anyways? What was she running after? Why was she running away from him?

Dealla was still trapped on the forest floor with Cade at her side.

"I'm okay," Dealla lied. She was far from OK, she was not safe and she was tethered to the forest that would attempt to drag her into the bowels of the deep wood. "Go away, get out, I'll be right with you. Stop anyone else from coming in. Please don't get eaten by rats." She would urge Cade, but he was too loyal for something like that. No, she needed help. Well, now that he was foolishly by Dealla's side, they needed help but he did not fully realized that.

"Diffindo."

The cutting charm was the obvious choice, she needed to cut herself free so that she would have any hope of fleeing this forest. Any hope of surviving this incident. This was a dangerous situation, one that she might in part blame Vladimir for and despite all her verbal rebuking she was not someone that just remained idle. Someone that expected or relied on being saved - she could save herself.

Dealla casts Diffindo.
Roll 2 (+12)
Attack 12
Evasion 6

The root would be sliced through, it would stubbornly try to hold on, wiggling and writhing from the bisected section onward like a split worm.

Nell [outside]. 400/600 health
Cade [inside]. Full health
Peri has left the thread.
Dealla [inside] 350/600
Aroura [outside] 320/500
Callie [inside]. Full health
Winnie. [outside] Full health
Vladimir. [inside] 680/1000
Bloom [outside]. Full health
Lavinia [outside]. Full health
Thomas [inside]. Ful health
Sylvain [outside]. Full health

Order of Operations
Maintained:
Dealla maintains Lumos Solem.
Vladimir is bleeding. [-10/round]
1. Bluebell Flame - Sylvain [success - the forest is on fire and it is spreading]
2. New spider attacks Lavinia [misses]
3. Vine attacks Vladimir [misses]
4. Incendio Duo - cast by Aurora onto the spider attacked to her arm. Critical success the spider is gone. Only 1 spider is in the thread at this time. She is not cursed but she did burn herself. [-80] 320/500
5. Red Sparks - Periculum cast by Callie [success]
6. Nell returns to the forest
7. Vlad's casts Flippendo at Nell [success]. [-100] 400/600
Branch Bash
8. Cade casts Red sparks over Dealla. [success] Also starts a fire on the forest canopy and it is spreading.
9. Callie enters forest
10. Winnie casts Lumos at Aroura's burnt arm. There is nothing to cast the spell at but she successfully casts Lumos.
11. Thomas enters forest
12. Lumos Maxima - Lavinia [success]
13. Vermin attacks Vladimir. He is bit and he is bleeding. [-100] 680/1000
New Spider attack
14. Thomas casts Lumos Solem [success]
15. Diffindo - Dealla [success] She is no longer snared.