In the Eleventh-Hour pv ms Finished

Since their talk in the summer, a plan to finally free Erin from the plague that riddled her had been the main point of interest behind them. Owls were a constant occurrence, night and day throughout summer. After all, time was running out and something needed to be done sooner or later. Eventually, after constant bickering they were only able to think of two ideas. One was a shot in the dark, while the other was a last ditch attempt to barter with the enemy. In all honesty, they were going to need a miracle.

Judgment day finally arrived and they were hidden away in the prefect's bathroom during suppertime, perfect for no one barging into the room unexpectedly. Gray carefully had rock friend firmly gripped in his right hand, completely unharmed from when Erin and Percival last met. Who knew a small, worthless rock would be the key to saving someone's life “I presume she wouldn’t have any hesitation in getting him back, it's just the matter of keeping her in the room which will be the problem. Locking the door will help us for a short while, but I can’t guarantee it will hold her for long. However, If I can hold or distract Erin to the point where she’s still that might give us the edge” Both of them had to give it a try, they had no other choice but to go with their gut.

Gray glared into San’s eyes as she put a hand through her hair nervously, listening to what she had to say about the hag barter they had planned if everything went wrong. Hesitantly, the boy gently wrapped his hand around hers, almost as a reassurance everything was going to be fine “Of course I hate it, and I hope it doesn’t come down to it. But if it does, you can always count on me to be with you, always” he said with a calming smile and a brief nod to give her confidence “You’re right, let's get this over with shall we?” Gray said determinedly, his hand not leaving her side as they began walking to the classroom together.

It didn’t take them long at all to reach the empty classroom early, giving them plenty of time to prepare for the moment. “My best bet would be to stay by the teachers desk until she arrives, just so she gets the idea I'm alone. If I’m at the back she might think I’m luring her in” Gray explained as he sat himself on top of the teachers desk “Other than that, you know what to do San.” he said before slightly leaning to her face “No matter what, we can get through this…”

Dear Erin Ryan,

I believe I still have something that belongs to you when we talked in the summer. Rock friend, who seemed to have terribly missed you reminded me that I should return him to his rightful master. Please, his presence is only taking up room in my drawer so I’d be more than happy to return the cold little guy. Meet me on the 26th in dark arts classroom four when i’m free. It will only take a few moments to get this over with.

Kind regards, Percival

Rock Friend was a steadfast companion of few words but great loyalty. Percival had been a fine caretaker of Rock Friend, while they had a heart of stone, they still required tender love and care. She had neither to give Rock Friend who so valiantly would warn of the presence of hags, kept her safe and now would keep the Prefect safe. Not that she had any particular sentiments for the dormmate of her former paramour, she only knew in the binary schema of good and bad that he was not 'bad' and therefore he was bequeathed Rock friend. She had no friends or associates of value, her brother @Geoffrey Ryan had no need for protections from evils he had conveniently avoided these years and she did not waste time pondering the possibility that he would miss her. These past years he no longer knew her.

When she received word from Gray, she same but not to retrieve Rock Friend but rather to leave something else in his care. Tarantulasaurus was in her cupped hands. He needed a place to go after the change. She did not know what she would be in a matter of days, if Tarantulasaurus could or if it even wanted to go with her.

She was filthy, the sort of filth that does not occur naturally. Rather the sort that one pursues, mud and grime-covered, she had found the recent rainfall granted her a bounty of sweet, soft mud. The grit made her hair feel right. Stiff and unyielding, like her clothes. They were so plain before but adorned with earth and clay, with beads of bone and found stone, fur and feather she felt lovely. Yet she felt less lovely than she believed that she was, her body ached from the inside. Bones that felt like they were oddly shaped, grating and grinding on one another. Her skin felt as if it was too tight, there was an urge to peel it away. A visceral nausea that pervaded her senses, left her feeling heavy and sluggish.

A shuffling gait, she would meet the summons in the Dark Arts Classroom. The air smelled awful, a foul stink that caused her face to contort in displeasure. She would stop at the threshold, as if there was some animalistic sense telling her to give pause. No, to flee. An instinct that she often felt and had learned to ignore, like a skittish beast of the wild. A predator that avoided the light of day. "Rock friend--" she took a half step forward. Heavy footfalls, each one burdened by the burgeoning change. "Belongs in your care," Percival would feel something if he bore the stone in his hand. It would quaver and it would break shape. A piercing shard like an arrow-head that would only fail to pierce his flesh as it had no weight to push the stone through his palm.

Stones change in the presence of hags. It was said of hag lairs in fact, not that there was one nearby any longer as Sylvain Wyllt had destroyed the foul homestead. A clear path would be riddled with sharpened stone.

In her hands, in spite of her filth and her less than graceful movements. Her hunkered over posture and her obvious oddities, she carried something with an uncanny tenderness, almost care. "I need a--" her voice cut short. He owed her nothing, but she was brazen enough to ask anyways. "A keeper for my friend," she was referring to Tarantulasaurus.

Santario would have stared up at him as he spoke, and when his hand reached for her, she did not flinch away or attempt to flee. The back of her mind screamed for her to back away, shove him out, do something he was getting too close, too brave. Reminders that in the end, all she would do was hurt him, she probably already had, and yet here he was giving her reassurance and strength. Something she wanted much more than what her brain told her to do.

It almost felt like she was walking towards an executioner’s block as they walked side by side. Tricking Erin and what would be seen as a full-out attack was not exactly something that would go over well. Before he left her side, she reached out and squeezed his forearm gently. “Please be careful.” Something more lingered behind her words, but she wouldn’t voice that she couldn’t stand seeing him hurt. She would let him walk away toward the teacher’s desk. “Remember, get her completely in the room and as far away from the door as possible so I can shut it behind her and have time to cast before she breaks my face.” It was a last-minute comment as he perched himself on the desk, and she nodded when he said she knew what to do. It was true. All she needed to do was to get Erin Ryan to vomit. Actually, hitting her was the most challenging part, but she had been practicing, and her hit rate was high according to the statistical run down she did on her own duelling matches.

She stared at his face for just a moment longer than necessary, hoping she wouldn’t be repairing it later as she tucked herself behind the door and waited with her wand in hand. Waiting felt like an eternity until she heard a shuffle down the hallway. She licked her lips and swallowed hard as it got closer. There was no question that this had to be Erin, but she stopped just in the doorway. No, no, no, come in, get inside the classroom! She urged as Erin professed Rock friend was now for Percival. It made sense in a way that made her heartache for the older girl. She knew what rocks did, and somewhere deep down, she knew rock friend might hurt her now.

She had to wait until Erin was entirely in the room and clear of the door to shut it behind her, which she was currently not. She would have to wait until Percival found a way to get her further into the room, but if she had something… Friend? Pet? Did Erin have a pet? She really couldn’t remember, but it was not like the girl was spending a lot of time in their shared dorm, ever. She only hoped Percival would lure her in further by accepting whatever it was that she was trying to give him.

Action| If Percival is successful and luring her inside and away from the door Santario will shut it behind her. If not she will wait longer.

Moderation

Stamina | 8 | Evasion | 7 | Strength | 3 | Wisdom | 9 | Arc Power | 10 | Accuracy | 12 |
Healing Sage| 30% Healing
Impartial| Immune to Lovely Creature & Veela Alluring

Walking side by side with Xan made him feel a sense of calm that he hadn't felt for a long while. At this point, he'd be feeling anxious for what was ahead, but with San, everything seemed to be at ease "No promises San, but I'll try my best" he said with a reassuring smile after her squeeze. They both perched themselves on the desk as Gray made sure she knew the plan, one of which was responded with no doubt. Before she left, she reminded him to get her through the door so that she could lock the deranged Erin inside "I've got an idea, but I don't know if it will work. There's only one way to find out..." he responded with a hint of uncertainty, his eyes glaring into the face of San who looked him over longer than expected. After a few seconds of peace, Gray released a calming smile and motioned his head to the right as an indication to get ready "I'll see you on the other side"

Time went slowly while the pair waited for Erin to arrive. However, just as he was about to lift himself off the desk a figure appeared in the doorway. Gray slowly turned his head to see the unnatural Erin in all her dirty glory. From their last meeting, her condition seemed to have worsened considerably. The hunch back, how she walked, her eyes, everything about Erin looked deranged. Looking unmoved by the appearance Gray carefully got up and folded his arms with rockfriend in hand, who began to suddenly shake and misshape. Percival took a quick glance down at his hand and looked back up to the girl in realisation. this was no coincidence.

"Rockfriend belongs to me now?" he responded with a tilt of his head, as a sharp point dug into his skin. It didn't hurt for now, but that was only because there was nothing to push it further into his hand. To him, the whole transformation was to warn him of who was standing before him. A person who was now a shadow of her former self, someone who could snap at a moments notice.

The prefect soon noticed an object in her filthy hands, one that reassembled a large furry companion that she had been nurturing for the longest time. To his surprise, she trusted him enough to ask him to look after her closest friend. Gray stared at the small guy with a straight face, one that didn't seem to be showing anything by the very least "Your spider? But why are you leaving such a precious thing with me?" he asked curiously, trying to draw the ragged girl closer to the desk "And please, come closer if you will. I can barely see him from over here" the boy suggested, making sure his hands were in clear view to show he wasn't going to try anything funny.

It ached in the bones. This sort of overstretched and now compensatorily stiff sense in her joints. Long bones that felt battered and bruised, like she took a bludger to both shins. It was not a new sensation, rather a sense she had gotten accustomed to like the slowly rising temperature in a bath of water that rises to the boil where it boils its living, bathing occupants alive. She was dressed for school technically, school robes were required most days when school was in session yet hers was rather disheveled. Her feet somehow bare, slapping the classroom floor with a graceless, burdened gait.

Her swallow was exaggerated as there was nothing to swallow, her mouth dry and her throat felt constricted as he parrotted the phrase -- rockfriend belongs to him. Yes, rockfriend and her were no longer friends. He would tell her secrets. Percival would see the secret as the agitated stone shook and changed, how it needled the air and bounced off his palm. A traitorous stone, a willing sentinel and a stalwart defender in one.

She did not come to retrieve rock friend. He had a place and was quite content. It was Tarantulasaurus that had no one. That was why she came, otherwise she would have likely ignored his summons. Anyones summons really. She was not someone who had friends. If anyone knew her family, they would understand why they were a non-option as well.

She would look at the waiting Prefect. There was a primal sense to flee, it was not new. It was always there. Through stringy stands of blonde hair that created a sort of poorly hung curtain over the scene left the image ablur.

It was just the Prefect. The one that called to her before. The one that knew. The one that she wanted to bite.

"Your spider? But why are you leaving such a precious thing with me?"

"Because," she knew the words but they sounded wrong. "You smell like food," she commented, the spider still in her hands. "That means you are... better than most," she concluded with one of her last vestiges of logic. She knew it was the good that she would be drawn to, that she would wish to devour whole. Like him. She wanted him, just not in the way that the other girls in Hogwarts did.

"He needs someone after I change," a conclusion she had come to. Yes, she knew that this was a transformation. Like adolescence if coming to age meant being ripped asunder and made anew. "There is nobody else."

She halted at the door, but not for fear of danger to herself. She had concluded she would destroy him. Knock him down on that very desk he sat. Rip him to the floor and rip out his throat with her teeth before he even drew his wand. That was the problem in fact, she had come to that very conclusion. She had already worked it out in her head - to go for the eyes, to take out the soft, poorly protected and vital region the throat. He would not have a chance to truly scream, it would be fatal. She had not only thought it, she had that very impulse,she had worked it through her mind thrice since arriving.

"It is not safe in there," she warned. He probably believed the fear was of him, not for him.

"And please, come closer if you will. I can barely see him from over here"

She took a ragged breath and she hesitated. She was uncertain she had the willpower any longer to deny herself what she desired. For the feel of tooth and claw, of the sticky and the hot. The feel of struggling, writhing, spurting flesh with a will to survive find itself wholly dominated. To watch it slow and ultimately fail. Like the rats, just not as fast. Like the rats, just a lot bigger and a lot more fun.

"I don't think I can," she warned but she came inside the classroom space. Hesitating, shuffling steps. She tried to not look at him as he beckoned her inside. To look at the arachnid in her grip. A Leaping Spider, it liked the tall. He had lots of curls on the top of his head, a favored nest. Her hands shook as she extended the creature. Her nails had grown thick and long. Unmanicured, unpainted and trembling. The spider was rather sizable, even among its kind. Well-fed, the vermin of Hogwarts have been kept at bay most certainly in part due to Tarantulasaurus' efforts.

The spider would leap from her skyward palms and bound away into a dark corner of the room. Someplace high, that was Tarantulasaurus' way. "H-He likes... mice and small rats," not the big ones, they were too chewy and sometimes they bit back.

There was something wrong with her face. It was more than the sallow complexion, the jaundiced eyes or the filthy edifice.Her features were wrong. Her jaw was set strongly, as if it was displaced forward yet it seemed to function fine as she spoke fluently. Her eyes seemed a bit sunken in their sockets and her cheekbones appeared a bit too sharp. That was not the problem, they were wrong features but Percival did not know the part-Veela well enough to know that her features had becomes distorted, slightly uneven, perhaps even askew. No, it was how the flesh seemed to shift, as if there was something moving under her skin of its own accord.

He smells like food? If anything was going to be a cry for desperate measures that, was it, and Santario was going to have to make sure that she did everything right to stop Percival from getting hurt, which would likely fail knowing her track record. Whether the realization would hit his head or not, she wouldn’t know, but when Erin said Percival smelled like food, all San heard was that he was about to be on her dinner menu, literally.

Santario forced herself to take a smaller and more shallow breath as she waited ever agonizingly for Erin to move away from the door. She licked her lips as her heart pounded in her chest and nausea rolled her stomach into knots that threatened to make her do what she was going to try and make the almost hag do. A proclamation that it was not safe in the room, but regardless of what Erin was referencing, it was safe for none of them to be in the room. How did San describe it the other day? A bull in a china shop and Percival and San were the china considering they were much more delicate and breakable than Erin was.

Erin said she wasn’t sure if she could enter, but sure enough, her hesitant shuffle started once more, and Santario closed her eyes, listening as hard as she could, wanting to make sure there was enough space to close the door behind the girl. Finally daring a peak, she would see Erin’s back start shutting the door behind her. Step by step, inch by inch, San put one arm on the door with her weight against it while she watched Erin like a hawk, her wand in her free hand. She forced her eyes to stay on her target because if she looked at him, she would think about what Erin would do to him, and then she would make a mistake. She could not let visages of him bloodied and broken fog her vision.

And that is when it would happen. The door would click audibly, signaling that the latch had fallen into place. "Erin, please do not panic, we think we can help you be you again." Was it likely that the HagVeela would panic anyway? Yes, very, and that is why she was ready.

Action| Santario shuts the door.

Moderation

Stamina | 8 | Evasion | 7 | Strength | 3 | Wisdom | 9 | Arc Power | 10 | Accuracy | 12 |
Healing Sage| 30% Healing
Impartial| Immune to Lovely Creature & Veela Alluring

@Santario Martin and @Erin Ryan

"Erin, I'm afraid I can't volunteer myself to be his meal. Or yours, if you that's what you mean..." He said with a raise of his brow, acting rather brave considering the comments she's said so far. Glaring back to the spider, Erin stated that he needed him after she changed, confirming to them she was becoming the very thing they set to destroy "I'm quite "honored" to be your choice, but I'm afraid you won't need to do that" he said back confidently as she hesitated to come into the room.

Slowly and carefully, her ragged body took a few key steps into the room. This was perfect, now all San needed to do was shut the door so he could lock it "See? nothing to be afraid of" Gray reassured as he began to take a few steps in her direction. Slowly nodding to the appetite of the spider, he managed to get into arms reach of the plagued student "I'll keep that in mind, you got any good places to find them?" he asked to keep her distracted as San began to make her way in. Percival glared into Erin's face and was almost shocked to see what it had done to her physically. Her whole Structure was misshapen and abnormal, something which almost made her a totally new person compared to the once healthy Erin Ryan.

San, with good timing, then shut the door behind her with the sound of the door latch alerting them that the door has officially been shut. His eyes snapped to Erin who for sure would be starting to figure out what she had landed herself into. Knowing what he had to do, he let out a loud sigh offered himself as the bait to this whole ordeal. Whatever Erin had to throw at him, he was ready.

Reaching behind him he gracefully swished out his wand and aimed behind Erin at the door "Colloportus" He said with a clear voice, his hand making the required movements for the spell to hopefully work "I'm sorry, but this is for the best. Deep down inside the Erin we know is still in there and we're going to pull her out of that retched shell that holds her"

Action: Attempts to cast the locking spell at the door

Stats: Stamina: 7 / Evasion: 8 / Strength: 6 / Wisdom: 7 / Arcane Power: 7 / Accuracy: 11

Erin would shuffle into the confines of their trap. They thought that they were caging a wild beast. That they were detaining the changeling and that within these limited quarters they would be able to wrangle her, extract the monster from within. That imprisoning her in this shared space was in their collective best interest.

The door would slam behind her, a voice would call out to her. She would hear the voice but she would not recognize the words. She knew the voice, a primal recognition. One caused by repetitious exposure, but names were too distant, too hard. She would not be able to call Santario Martin by name. That was the first and second mistake -- Santario breaking the boon of stealth, possibly anonymity and well as the portal of egress was now closed.

Percival Gray would draw his wand, his rod of power, his hidden strength. That carved length of yew clutched in his firm grasp. An armament he should have used directly on her, his fourth error. Rather he cast Colloportus, locking the three of them in this room together. It was like locking yourself in a room with any apex predator -- a very bad idea.

Percival cast Colloportus.
Roll: (Wisdom) 13 (+7) Success

The tumblers would roll unseen. The deadbolt would slide into place with an audible CLICK.

Her eyes would not leave their quarry as vulturine intentions pervaded her actions. Her pupils would visibly dilate, the shock of blue consumed by pitch black. Everything was brighter, almost too bright. Her heart drummed in her chest. Her jaw would seemingly unhinge, detach from her skull allowing her mouth to open abnormally wide, like a snake that was about to devour vermin whole.

She would rush Percival, claws bared she would attempt to hurl herself at him with merciless speed and hungry efficiency. There was this voracious appetite that perhaps for a short time Percival Gray might sate.

Erin attempts to bite Percival.
Attack: 4 (+10)
Evasion: 20 (+8)

Seemingly quadrupedal, she would lunge at the Prefect. He would scramble out of the way. Her nails would dig into the desk, the very space that Percival had just sat. Her nails would uproot the wood, leaving a sextet of gouges on the face of that desk. She did not verbally acknowledge either of them, rather she let out a noise that was more akin to bobcat.

Percival tried to help reach Erin with his words, something that Santario thought was a moot point for either of them to try, but they would not be them if they did not. That was when everything happened in rapid succession. Percival cast the spell that slammed the deadbolt behind her and even though it was expected she still jumped a little as it slid home. Erin leaped forth sounding off with a noise akin to a feral animal. Seeing Erin like this was a heavy dose of reality that Santario was unprepared for as fear flooded her body rooting her feet to the ground. She made a big talk about being a duellist to practice for scenarios like this, but it changed nothing in the end. It never would. You could never honestly know how you would feel when your heartbeat so hard made it hard to breathe and every swallow felt like gravel in your throat.

Her eyes widened as she watched Percival somehow get out of the way as Erin’s claws dug into the desk. That could have been Percival, that was right where he had just been. How could she have even allowed him to help in something like this?! Not that he would have given her the choice, but that didn't matter to her all that mattered was that if she failed and he got hurt it would be her fault. Hag Erin was undoubtedly terrifying and something that would probably haunt her nights for a good long time after this evening. She needed to breathe and pretend this was like a duel, a really high-staked duel, and if she failed, she would get him hurt just like she had predicted. She raised her wand, hoping this spell didn’t backfire on her the way it did in the common room at the beginning of the year. Trying to make someone else throw up while you were currently doing it would not be an easy task, to say the least. With a flourish, the cherrywood wand pointed at Erin. “Slugulus Eructo!” Whether the spell backfired or not, she still felt like she might throw up anyway.

Action| Casting the Slug Vometing Charm on Erin.

Moderation

Stamina | 8 | Evasion | 7 | Strength | 3 | Wisdom | 9 | Arc Power | 10 | Accuracy | 12 |
Healing Sage| 30% Healing
Impartial| Immune to Lovely Creature & Veela Alluring