MS A desperate plea for help! Finished

IMPORTANT: I have recently changed my character’s name but the IC change is in effect from July so at this time I’m still using the old name, which was Carolyn Hunt.

The first year seemed grateful when Carolyn took Robert from her and the older girl wasn’t surprised. She already endured way more than she should have. Thankfully, Mr. Brumby was there to instruct his interns what to do immediately and so Carolyn didn’t have to look at Robert’s horrific wounds for too long. Said man reminded her a lot of her father. He was no sweet talker but he was definitely a doer. Edward Lee had the same attitude when a critically ill patient came in. He left the kind promises to the nurses while he did his work and navigated others. It was vital part of the job and it was oddly comforting to see it here.

"You are sorry?" A weak and somewhat confused voice brought Carolyn back to reality. It was not time for her musings. You are hurt because I told you to stay. She wanted to say, surprised the girl didn’t understand right away. It was clear now that they had a very different picture of the situation and Carolyn selfishly chose not to elaborate. “We can talk about it more later. For now focus on getting better,” she said instead, noticing the nurse was preparing to head their way. Carolyn was about to ask one of the interns for help when the young girl hugged her. The poor thing was exhausted not only physically but emotionally as well. The older Ravenclaw knew she needed comfort but she wasn’t entirely sure how to give it. She was older and as such was supposed to look after her juniors. At least that’s how she was raised. She was also taught to be stable and calm, which she could do but hugging? She was definitely not an expert on that one. Sylvain tried to make the gesture more natural for her but Carolyn still had a long way to go. Her mother was the only hugger in the family but even she did so on appropriate occasions and since it was rare to actually see Carolyn cry, comforting was not one of them.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the raven-haired girl managed to unfreeze herself and put one hand onto Sam’s shoulder while the other gently patted her head. “There now…everything is going to be okay. Just listen to Mr. Brumby and drink everything he’ll give you. It will make you feel better soon. You are safe here.” At this point, the nurse was almost with them and Carolyn couldn’t be happier. It was not that she disliked the physical affection. She just didn’t know what to do with it. Her family loved her but it was always more about the way they behaved rather than hugs and kisses. She was sure, she got plenty of those when she was a toddler but she could hardly remember. "Hey! Are you bit?" Ah…here comes my saviour. She smiled at Sam encouragingly once she let go to reply to the nurse. Carolyn really wanted to believe the young girl didn’t notice her awkwardness alas... Did I just seriously BOW to an eleven year old?! What are you doing? She reprimanded herself immediately. "I’ll probably stay here for a while too. Let me know if you need anything.” She told Sam after regaining some of her composure.

With Callie and both Robert and Samantha being taken care of, Carolyn finally allowed herself the same “luxury”. She listened to the instructions Mr. Brumby gave one of his interns and waited patiently for her potion. Once the anti-venom was given to her, she drunk it without hesitation. She wanted the pain gone and she wanted to set an example for Samantha too. Sadly, nothing happened and her leg still burned and prickled as it did before. She shook her head at the intern. Only then did she notice Sylvain coming in and sighed with apparent relief. It was good to see him unharmed. She waived at the boy but he seemed preoccupied with something so she decided to wait until her treatment was over. “Sorry, nothing really seems different…I just… saw my friend.” Carolyn confirmed the result with her words as well, realising her previous action probably sent some mixed signals to the nurse. They definitely had to try something else.

Interacting with: @Samantha Salwis and @Kelsey Brumby, Mentioning: @Sylvain Wyllt, @Robert Toukmond

There was quite a lot going on in the head of the young Ravenclaw as he practically sprinted into the Hospital Wing. Prior to this very day, all of the dangers that Thomas had stumbled upon were of his own volition. Signing up for dueling, the chess combat event, even wandering off into the Forbidden Forest like a confused lemming, all of these were choices. Up until now, the wizard had had relative control over his Hogwarts experience, sitting back and observing rather than getting into the affairs of others. Now, however, it seemed that this wouldn't be an option, as the danger was brought to his very own Common Room. A place he once thought safe, no less. He stood behind Syl momentarily, noting that he appeared to be transcribing it and quietly mumbling his thanks before moving on to the primary reason he had arrived there.

Swiftly, Thomas made his way to Callie's side as immediately as he could without getting in the way of anyone's work. His gaze drifted from person to person, noting that there were many injured individuals that he hadn't remembered being harmed. Consequences of leaving the Common Room, perhaps? More likely was his lack of observations after having seen his good friend in pain. "Callie I-... I'm so sorry," Thomas began, hoping to atone for his abandonment. "I shouldn't have left you, I was worried sick, but I didn't listen to my instincts to stay back when I should have, and I'm sorry." He looked around to anyone who might've been nearby, anyone who he could identify as someone who had helped, but most of the Ravenclaws in the room were currently occupied. That was fine, Thomas could ask Callie later, and offer a proper thanks to whoever had helped her when the opportunity was right.

Turning back to his friend, his mournful expression slowly faded away in favor of excitement as he continued. "You wouldn't believe what we've found, so much information. When you're better I'll tell you everything Syl, Aeron, and I uncovered," He kept his voice quiet, barely a whisper, only getting quieter if any Hogwarts staff drew near.

@Callie Jensen

Carolyn was safe, that was enough to temporarily put Callie's frayed nerves at ease. However she wasn't quite able to bring herself to formulate a response other than a distant nod. Far too much was going on in Callie's head to be much use to anyone. Truth be told very little registered with Callie other than the pain, the worry and the occasional words of Carolyn. Not being able to see properly just made the entire scenario ten times worse.

"Open? Wh-" Callie cut herself off when she felt the familar sensation of the potion bottle being slipped back into her hand. This time around she made sure to grip it perhaps a bit too tightly, largely since she well hellbent on not having her clumsiness come back to haunt her. Whilst Carolyn continued on Callie gave her a thankful nod before quickly downing the contents of the potion bottle, prompting a rather disgusted look to creep onto her face. Even if she was now reliant on the substance that didn't make the taste any more appealing.

At the sudden mention of Robert, Callie's eyes widened before Carolyn decided to wander off to leave Callie to her own devices. For a moment the girl attempted to rise out the bed she'd made herself at home in, only to find herself sent back down immediately by the exhaustion. By now the chaos had started to wind down and Callie found herself starting to drift off entitely.

That is until the familar sound of the infamously annoying Thomas Baines resonated at her bedside. Despite the fact the girl was akin to a mole without her glasses, Callie's eyes immediately flew open before she moved to get closer to the boy. "Thomas? I-Is that you?" She questioned as she moved closer whilst squinting her eyes in an attempt to make out the strange blob. While squinting did very little to confirm the identiy of the strange blob, the rambling of the blob in question certainly did. "Urgh, shut up you idiot!" Callie exclaimed as she reached out to envelop the boy in a hug. "I was so worried about you I-" She cut herself off to sniffle in an attempt to hold back what little tears she had remaining. "I-It's okay." Naturally Callie refused to let Thomas escape the hug she'd so expertly captured him in. "But forget waiting..tell me now idiot!" She whispered back aggressively before releasing Thomas to clutch her abdomen once more.

Interacting with: @Eun-ji Lee Hunt & @Thomas Baines

• Any student who escapes from the Ruinous Ruminations thread may come here and wallow in their misery
• Kels cast Lumos, something inside Sam shrank away from the light (this phenomena will only happen in very fresh wounds and is subtle.) Lumos is an auto-success, Kels rolled a 28 perception check.
• @Eun-ji Lee Hunt will receive pain-relieving balm for her wounds from the intern that gave her the anti-venom
• @Callie Jensen still has a sleeping draught available by her bed if she wants a good night's rest
• @Samantha Salwis will have an intern approach her and sterilize all her wounds
• @Robert Toukmond has had his wounds sterilized and pain relieved, is still unconscious, but is being approach by Brumby. For research.
• I will update the thread at least one more time and further depending on activity, but I will continue to take actions to try to understand the curse in that time, you may still interact with Brumby in this time if you'd like to, but you will have to demand his attention.

Interacting with: @Kelsey Brumby and @Eun-ji Lee Hunt

Samantha didn't notice uncomfortable the older girl was. She was to busy feeling sorry for herself and sobbed softly. The young girl felt a gentle pat on her head and looked up to Carolyn. Samantha blue, teary eyes looked at Carolyn, while Sam listened closely to what second year had to tell.

After listening to Carolyn, Samantha's little arms released the older girl. The hug had done it's job, Samantha felt saver now. She gave Carolyn an adorable little smile and softly said: "Thank you for the hug."

Even though Samantha looked at Carolyn, she didn't noticed the older girl's awkwardness. The brunette had never been good at reading others, especially if they felt uncomfortable. She never noticed when people didn't want to participate in a conversation or felt uncomfortable. And this time was no exception.

Carolyn encouraged the first year to reply to the nurse and told Sam she would be around if the young girl needed anything. Samantha just gave a little nod, she didn't have the energy to give a wordy reply. She needed to save her words for nurse Brumby.

After the brunette had answered Kelsey's question's, he motioned to the bed. Samantha walked to the bed and sat down on the edge of the bed. She looked at him with big eyes waiting for what to do next. When he told her to lay on her stomach, that's what she did. Normally she would ask him why, curious to learn more, but not now. She was to tired and just wanted to cry.

Even though she wasn't laying comfortable, that didn't prevent the wave of tiredness that hit her. She could feel her eyes slowly closing a few seconds after her head hit the pillow. She was already dozing away and she would have been in a deep sleep if it hadn't been for the little pat on her head.

"-t'get some rest. We'll get ya somethin' fer the pain in jes' a second."

She turned around and sat up in the bed. "Okay," Samantha hadn't understand everything that had been said, she hoped she hadn't missed something important. What she did understand sounded like a good plan to her. She really wanted to get some rest, this day had been exhausting for her.

Something for the pain also sounded nice. The pain had never gone away, but the young girl had just ignored it. Well, she had tried to ignore it. Of course, that was easier said then done. Samantha was really relieved when an intern approached her and sterilized all her wounds.

Practically leaping out of his skin as Callie went in for the hug, it took all of Thomas' willpower not to recoil away at the sudden, unwarned physical contact. He was stiff as a board and profoundly uncomfortable, at least at first, paranoia still to the nines. After a few moments, however, the Ravenclaw boy allowed the tension to ease in his body, and as Callie proclaimed that it was okay he felt at ease enough to even hug her back. Carefully, of course, he didn't know to what extent she was harmed, but Thomas was just grateful that there appeared to be no grudges between the two of them. That would at least partially soothe his aching conscience. As his friend pulled away, he took the opportunity to wipe his face with a sleeve to disguise any tears of his own. The young wizard was an expert in keeping his composure, after all. If anyone dared to imply that he was going soft, well, there would be great consequences for such a thing.

"A journal, it was a journal we found," he began, voice hushed. Glancing around to make sure no one was listening, no staff members at least, Thomas crouched down and sat exactly like this beside her on the floor to explain further. "Boy's dorms were a wreck, Vlad's stuff was torched but Syl found a hidden journal of his. Obviously I don't know how much of it is actually true, but a lot of what he seems to be concerned about aligns with some of my suspicions... There are hags in those dam- ... Excuse me, sorry, darn woods. Vladimir has known as early as 2018--a full two years before a few of us followed him into the Forbidden Forest and ahd that whole altercation. Surely, staff knew about the infestation too, I find it ridiculously hard to believe that Vlad was the only one aware... Why are they keeping this information from us? Feels too sketchy."

"There's more, but I'm still trying to make sense of it all. We can go through more later. Vlad though, he seems to think there's someone messing with the food here, that the house-elves are in on some sort of conspiracy. Vladimir named some students I want to keep an eye on, some of the names I recognize. Erin Ryan, she's a beater on the Slytherin quidditch team, for example."

Looking at Callie, noting the strange wounds she was dealing with and the even stranger potion he didn't recognize that she had been prescribed, Thomas was afraid of worrying her. However, he couldn't bear the weight of a lie... "I don't know what's going on with the spiders, I've only heard rumors throughout this year, but... In his journal, Vladimir referenced something he's calling the black infection." The implication was obvious, was this a contagion his friend would now have to face? Terrifying, surely. "There weren't many details, but... That potion you've got there fits the general description of what people were given as a cure." A white lie was okay, right? His best friend, one of his only friends really, cursed without a cure... No, Thomas could confront that reality and tell her the truth at another time, when she was feeling better. "I can show you the journal later, alright? Once you're better."

@Callie Jensen

Callie knew Thomas well enough to see right through his attempts to disguise his tears but for once she didn't raise the issue. While she still failed to see much point in bottling up emotions for long, Callie figured that he'd been through enough already without adding her pestering to the mix. Besides she couldn't exactly see clearly at the moment thanks to the absence of her glasses, which took the fun out of provoking a reaction from Thomas. While the girl had never been able to see especially well tonight the issue was more annoying than usual, perhaps it was the addition of pain or being overly reliant on everyone else. Either way she resented her mole-like tendencies and briefly considered the possibility of contact lenses...if she could get her parents to bite.

"A journal?" Callie whispered back in a similarly hushed tone, having decided that perhaps Thomas' consistent paranoia was justified afterall. Why the hell was the spider even in the common room to begin with? What kind of protection detail was Hogwarts even running? This was meant to be a safe school..right? Put simply Callie had come to realise that she shouldn't award the staff as much trust as she had in the past. The only people she could place all her faith in was her fellow students but even that was up in the air if Vlad was keeping so much from them. "Three years ago? What the hell are they playing at? Urgh, this is ann-" Callie whispered in barely contained anger, only to immediately back down when the pain in her abdomen flared up again.

"You know usually I would laugh at the whole food conspiracy thing but after today? Jeez." She leaned back against the headboard of the bed and shuffled over slightly to give Thomas some room. Sitting up was tiring but Callie wasn't willing to lose Thomas' company so quickly. The boy was important to her, much more important that she had perhaps ever realised. "The angry looking one?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow. "At least this gives me another reason to dislike qudditch, I'm amassing quite the list of reasons you know." Alas..the art of quidditch was entirely lost on Callie as to her it was nothing more than weirdos on brooms.

As Thomas spoke about the so called infection Callie fell silent, as if she was quietly debating things in her head. The word infection didn't exactly bode well nor did the original reactions of the infirmary staff when she walked through the door. Deep down Callie couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't something that would be going away anytime soon, even with the so called cure. "Thomas.." She eventually spoke up after simmering in quiet contemplation for a while. "I'm not stupid enough to believe whatever was in that bottle was enough to cure all of this." She gestured vaguely to her abdomen before tilting her head against the headboard. "Manage it a little? Maybe. The reactions of all the staff were way too serious to even think for a second this will be easy." Callie tilted her head to face Thomas again. "Promise me something Thomas." She once again lowered her tone into a hushed whisper. "Don't sugar coat things for me, even if you mean well." Naturally she offered the boy her pinky as the bond of a pinky promise was obviously sacred. "I-uh, you mean a lot to me you big idiot. Knowing I can count on you? It helps, more than you know."

@Thomas Baines

IMPORTANT: I have recently changed my character’s name but the IC change is in effect from July so at this time I’m still using the old name, which was Carolyn Hunt.

Carolyn had so many questions about what was going on but the hospital wing was getting busier by the second and so was the head nurse. I shouldn't bother anybody more than necessary, the young Ravenclaw decided quickly. “Thank you,” she smiled at the intern who had just passed her the pain-relieving balm. That should do for now. She was about to check on Callie as promised when Thomas barged through the door, looking properly ashamed. Carolyn was relieved to see him. This is precisely what her friend needed right now. She received treatment, knew Robert was safe and now she got a chance to make amends with Thomas. Well, I suppose I should give them some space then...

For a moment or two she wasn't sure what to do? There was no way she was returning to that tower so soon after the attack but she also didn’t feel like she should occupy one of the very much needed beds around here. She wondered whether she should go and join Sylvain, sitting on the nearby chairs. He seemed to have something pretty interesting in his hands. She also wanted to check if he was hurt but considering the scene, he was most certainly fine. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said about Samantha. Carolyn was thorn between leaving the clearly very distressed young girl alone and risking more physical affection but eventually decided to approach her. They were done with her treatment and she looked absolutely pitiful. Syl was okay but there was no one to look after this young one and Carolyn felt somewhat responsible for her state. The first year needed sleep but the older girl knew it would not come easy to her. Of course, she would probably get a potion o help her but little reassurance before that happened could go a long way.

“Hey…” the witch announced her presence in a gentle tone. She never had anybody close to her in the hospital but she spent most of her childhood in one anyway. She didn’t experience caring for somebody first hand but she had been watching her mum and dad do it for as long as she could remember. Hopefully some of the bedside manners rubbed off on her. “How are you doing? Feeling a bit better?” She asked, making sure to sound as reassuring as she possibly could. They did a great job with Sam’s wounds and the pain reliever surely helped but there was still the emotional aspect of it that couldn’t be fixed with a simple bandage or spell. “You should probably get some sleep. Do you think you can do that?”

Interacting with: @Samantha Salwis Mentioning: @Sylvain Wyllt, @Callie Jensen and @Thomas Baines

Interacting with @Eun-ji Lee Hunt

After the intern had left her Samantha kicked of her shoes. The white sneakers fell down on the ground next to the girls bed, well the bed that she had claimed as hers for the night. She looked at the sneakers that fitted the ground. They bounced a bit before they were laying still.

Her hair had fallen next to her face, as little curtains. As she was sitting on the edge of the bed her legs were dangling as they were to short to hit the ground. Her mind was going through everything that had happend and the young girl couldn't stop her thoughts. Tears started to roll down her face, hidden behind her hair, so nobody could see them.

A gentle "hey" was what got the young girl out of her thoughts. She looked up after she had wiped away her tears. Samantha's eyes were still red, so it was clear that she had cried. When she saw who it was a little smile appeared on the young girls face.

When Carolyn asked how she was doing Samantha wanted to answer good. It was like an instinct, she always said she was doing good. But she knew she wasn't doing good, and it was clear for everybody to see. Besides nobody would expect her to be doing good.

"I feel a little better, not much, but a little." She bit her lip, trying to prevent crying. "It still hurts and I am tired." Some rest, yes, that sounded nice. Samantha nodded and laid down on the bed. She laid down under the sheets, wearing all of her clothes expect her shoes. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

She expected to fall asleep in seconds, but that didn't happen. Instead of dozing off her brain started to work, processing everything that had just happend. The huge spider, the attacks, the wounds, the screams, the pain. Everything came flashing back.

Her eyes opened instantly. Her eyes were filled with fear. She couldn't do this. She turned on her side so she faced Carolyn. "Could you maybe talk? Maybe just tell a story or something? I can't sleep. My mind keeps going back. I keep seeing-" Her eyes filled with tears again. She didn't say anything anymore. She just waited to see what Carolyn would say

IMPORTANT: I have recently changed my character’s name but the IC change is in effect from July so at this time I’m still using the old name, which was Carolyn Hunt.

It was painfully clear that Samantha cried just a few seconds ago and Carolyn was glad she managed to wipe off the tears before acknowledging her presence. The raven-haired witch didn’t know how to deal with tears. She herself didn’t cry in front of others, not even when it came to her family. If anyone ever saw her cry, it was most certainly by accident. Carolyn didn’t think any less of those that could cry openly of course but she just didn’t know how to act around them.“Good, it might not seem like much but a little bit better is still better,” she elected not to comment on Sam’s red eyes and instead smiled at the girl encouragingly. She then bent down and rearranged the fallen shoes neatly, heels facing the bed so the girl could slip into them easily in the morning. It was a gesture that came to her naturally. Carolyn’s family did this with all shoes in the hallway. Her grandma taught her to do that and she had to admit, it made things a little bit easier when she was running late. Not that such thing happened often. The Ravenclaw was quite punctual.

The older girl was about to leave as not to disturb the first year, who was trying to fall asleep but before she could take a single step, Sam’s eyes flew open again. She was looking distraught and Carolyn knew what she was going to say before she actually said it. She had seen the same exact look on Elspeth. The traumatic experience had a way to haunt somebody everywhere they went especially when you were left alone with nothing but your own thoughts. Carolyn did her best to help her best friend then and she liked to think she made a difference and yet…it just wasn’t enough. No time to dwell on the past, she reprimanded herself. “Story you say….” That sounded like a good idea. It was too soon to talk about today’s events and it was obvious that Sam was tired. It made no sense to try and keep a conversation going. Story could be a nice distraction. “Hmm….” The witch thought about it for a second. She didn’t really read any children stories and if her mother did read some to her when she was little, she didn’t remember. She had precisely one book that her father gave her, insisting it was children’s book when it CLEARLY wasn’t. The stories in it were all grim and some bother line gory. It did end up becoming one of her favourite books however as it was filled with good life lessons. Among all of them however, there was only one that she dared to present to the young girl. “Alright, I think I have one for you. Concidentaly it shows that shadows, while scary, can be defeated even if you feel like you are powerless. It goes like this:”

“Once upon a time in a castle in the deep forest, there lived three people who had their real faces stolen by the Shadow Witch. A young man with a card box stuck on his head, a boy with a mask and a princess without emotions. The Box Man spoke, “If we want to find happiness, we must retrieve our stolen faces.” So they hopped on their carriage and began their journey to find their real faces.

Then one day, they run into a mother fox who was bawling, curled up on the snow.
The Masked Boy asked the mother fox, “Ma’am, why do you keep crying?”
“Oh I came out here to find some food but dropped my baby whom I was carrying on my back somewhere in the snow,” the mother fox’s tears had run dry. She wailed while beating her chest.
When the masked boy saw that, warm tears started gushing from his eyes. Then the snow began to melt quickly and the baby fox who was lost under the snow soon appeared.

Seeing them reunited, the three resumed their journey. Soon, they ran into a clown who was dancing naked in a field of thorny flowers. The Emotionless Princess asked, “Why are you dancing with all your might knowing you’ll be pricked by the thorns?”
“I feel that this is the only way to make people look at me. But it hurts and no one’s looking at me,” he answered. The Emotionless Princess walked into the field of thorny flowers and started dancing with the clown, “I am an empty can so I won’t be hurt even if I get pricked by the thorns.” When she began hopping and dancing, loud clanking noises echoed from her empty torso. And upon hearing those sounds, the people began to flock to where they were. The crowd watched their dance and applauded them.

The trio began a new journey to find their stolen faces and the evil Shadow Witch appeared in front of them once again. She kidnapped the Masked Boy who shed tears on behalf of the mother fox, as well as the Emotionless Princess who danced with the clown, “The two of you will never be able to find your happy faces.” After putting such a curse on them, she locked them in a deep, dark mole tunnel.

The Box Man found the mole tunnel a few days later but the entrance was so narrow that he couldn’t go in. “What do I do? I need to take this box off my head in order to go into the tunnel.”
That moment, the Masked Boy’s voice reached him from the inside of the tunnel, “Mister, don’t worry about us. Just run far away. The Shadow Witch will return soon.”
However, the Box Man didn't leave, instead he mustered up the courage to take the box off his head. He went inside the tunnel and saved the Masked Boy and the Emotionless Princess.

Upon getting out of the dark tunnel, the two of them saw the man’s face covered with dirt and grime instead of the box and burst out laughing. They laughed and giggled.
While laughing uncontrollably, the Masked Boy’s mask suddenly fell off. The can surrounding the Emotionless Princess’ torso also fell off and made a clanking noise.
The Box Man, now out of his box, said this when he saw the two of them finding their true faces while laughing, “I’m happy.” And just like that, the shadow witch was defeated.

Carolyn smiled. “What the Shadow Witch had stolen from them was not their true faces but their courage to find happiness. Now that they got their courage back, they could be finally happy again.”
OOC: The story is not mine. It's from a Korean drama called "It's okay not to be okay".

Interacting with: @Samantha Salwis