Fall Ball 2021 Samhain Festival

She could have cursed herself when her, among several other students, failed to contain the girl. Illowy's eyes went wide, "Gray, move!" she tried to shout over the chaos. Not to much avail. The lad was distracted, Erin's teeth sunk into his flesh... by Merlin the blood.

The older Slytherin was on auto pilot, pushing through the crowd to get there. Thankfully Henry made it to him, not losing a moment to act. How long had it been since she'd seen him? Outside of duelling anyway... at least since her birthday. Time really flew when the world was falling apart, didn't it?

Reaching the boys, she rested a hand around the Prefect's shoulder, partially in an attempt to comfort him, partly in a protective gesture in the case that Erin came back for seconds. After all, Percival might've been a Prefect, Henry might've been a strong duellist, but to her, in that moment she felt the need as an upperclassman to protect her peers, "Yer alright, Gray. Just fine..." she tried to reassure, looking around them for any other people in need of immediate assistance.

Her eyes lifted to Xailah, who'd made the brave attempt to try to physically restrain the crazed Slytherin. There was a face she'd not seen in eons. A welcome face in Illowy's eyes when there was a crisis, "Xailah, Are you alright?" she called to her, unsure if the Gryffindor would even be able to her, "What the hell is going on?" amidst the chaos last year, Xailah had been the only one she'd known to have any clue about what was happening. By Merin's beard though if this had to do with those monstrous dolls again, Illowy might have a fit.

Interacting| @Thomas Lestrange | @Marion Davenport | @Orion Lécuyer Mentioning| @Percival Grey | @Erin Ryan | @Bridget Collins | @Victor Moore |

Outfit Minus the Locket Reducio

The suspect of the doll was an easy thing to piece together. Though it was an educated guess formed as a fact. She knew about what happened at the forest edge over the summer, and while she didn’t know what visage that doll had taken, she did know that they could be full-grown and that it housed a centipede. Vladimir had confirmed that Victor was dead and nothing was changing that combined with what she felt under Victor’s skin the first night of school, she put it together. Even if she was wrong, she wouldn’t have cared, not right now, but she knew that wasn’t really Victor, and in her mind, he now needed to die again.

There was so much going on, and the sight of Erin Ryan going after Percival left her wide-eyed and moved to inaction. Dirty fingers moved to grasp a locket that no longer rested just below her clavicle; unbeknownst to her, it was probably in Thomas’s pocket. Everything was in slow motion, and the sound of her own breathing was starting to drown out everything else around her. “I am a failure. I failed him. Again Failed. I failed them all. I will fail you….” Her lips moved quickly as she mumbled to herself, probably mostly incoherently given all the yelling around though some might hear her. Her eyes, once vibrant and striking, had become duller as the time had gone on, seeming more on the edge of dusty blues or stormy grays instead of polished sapphires. Glass shells formed over their surface as hot tears welled in her eyes.

She blinked, sending hot trails down her cheeks as she looked back toward Thomas, who thankfully expertly dodged Marion once more though she wouldn’t know how fortunate he truly was until Bridget appeared by her side. She wanted to run; she needed to run. Escape, run, hide, listen to the tall blonde who would just as likely kill her if he had found out what was wrong with her. Regret filled her. Santario, Marion is a hag. Bridget’s voice cut through the din of everything else. Santario found Bridget’s face before another voice filled her mind. The voice of a professor she decided she could trust. He reminded her far too much of her own father, but he had told her she could count on him no matter what. It was time to put his money where his mouth was.

Santario screamed it to the rooftops allowing fear to flood her voice, a forced manipulation to make the man run faster if he heard her. When she looked back at Marion, there would be nothing but unadulterated rage accompanied by a dose of crazy that should have been sprinkled on like salt from the saltshaker. Unfortunately, the lid fell off. “I have wanted to kill you for the longest time. I do hope you scream.” Her wand raised, she saw nothing but Marion Davenport in her view. “Incendio Duo!”

Action| Action Caveate| Regardless of who they are, if anyone attempts to physically stop, move, or hinder her, instead, her attack directs toward them.
Casting Incendio Duo at Marion
Screaming for Orion.

Even if he should, Thomas paid no mind to his former friend, with dodge skills only Neo(Matrix, not pets) could rival. A hag matrix anyway, machines making machines…hags making hags. It was no so different after all, on the cusp of joining the ranks of her pitiful sisters. Pity would come one day, but not today. Thomas and Erin buried the hatchet long ago, only to replace it with a chained mace—think Witch King. They will not be friends again, and he didn’t much care about her results. In fact, Erin’s least desirable option was preferred.

More presently, it wasn’t that Thomas didn’t appreciate Bearmi’s attempted grapple to keep the boy out of Marion’s reach, though her next move would draw more praise. A relieved sigh to see the transition from protector, to aggressor. She was a full grown bear after all, the type that would deter avid hikers from less traveled routes.

Seemingly escaping from the gray area was Grey himself, ultimately deeming the hag and her slave required a firmer hand. It would not forgive the developing resentments Thomas held for the boy, though a step in the right direction.

Interventionists aside, Thomas knew to channel what mental energy remained on his own actions. Another attempted spell amiss, perhaps the result of a hurried tremble that Marion’s eerie approach offered. The subtle phrases carried more weight than segments of a love poem.

Brewing rage left the boy’s blue eyes narrowing down at his mayhaw finished wand, fingers curling tightly in frustration. Retaining what distance he could from Marion, eyes traveling to find her again in combination with a heavy exhale.

Though for all Thomas’ frustrations, they were vastly overshadowed by Santario Martin. A fury last displayed in her previous duel, leaving the boy to pause in still examination. Her emotions in the driver seat, a release typically few and far in between. The departure was notable, fuming for all to see. Leading to brief consideration if she held any remnants of the girl he knew. Who is she?

The signs were all there, the letter of desperation, revealing a scattered mind in fear. Even after seeing Thomas live at her duel, the two have yet to engage for their own respective reasons. It led to a belief brewing in this very moment: Santario was not here on his behalf, she was here for herself. Whatever her purpose may be, a dividing feeling would prompt sidesteps away from who he thought was his best friend.

It was likely Santario would not pick up on his bewildered reaction, amidst shouting for stars and death threats for Davenport. Bridget’s incantation would break the boy’s gaze, catching her trailing behind with a capable hand pointing at Marion. A position that inspired confidence, having the reinforcement of Slytherin’s two most impressive duelists, a completely unbiased position.

Even if his wand aim was reminiscent of a stormtrooper, the boy could not allow himself to be discouraged. Identifying a more capable wizard in Jack Burnett. ”You know what she is, Fox.” A plead for assistance, bypassing the many quarrels the two have shared over differences in approach. The problem was always a shared one, and Thomas could only hope Jack would not eagerly run towards the smoochy hag like he did a year ago.

Regathering his grip on his wand, Thomas located the eyes of Davenport again. ”Revelio!”

Action: Casting revelio at Marion, take two

Interactions: @Marion Davenport |@Santario Martin | @Jack Burnett | @Bridget Collins | @Ami Procoppio

Stats: Stam: 8 | Eva: 10 | Str: 7 | Wis: 8 | Arc: 3 | Acc: 10
Abilities: Evasive | Evasive Deux

Note: Apologies, it is less than inspired, writing mobile is takings its toll!

Spectators would witness this blood sport. The gruesome violence, the visceral impulses that compelled the feral-seeming girl that dug her teeth into Percival Grey. The taste of human flesh, the texture of uncooked steak and the taste of sweet copper. She had tasted him before, his young, herotic flesh. For whatever reason, the taste of a good man tasted different from a wicked one. Not that she had known the taste of a bad man, but time was a commodity that if she survived this evening she would have in abundance so she would be testing the taste of a @Jack Burnett. To know the difference, to consume the forbidden fruit and know what is good and what is evil.

T'was the forces of monsters, of demons and of terrible fiends that surrounded her. She would rip away from Percival, a hunk of flesh still clenched between her bloodied teeth. They swarmed and she regret scurrying from behind the wall of Hugh. The part-giant that said something but she had already forgot what. She was not even certain who was allied with these dark wizards. Only that she should not trust someone who was speaking to her with the length of their wand directed at her.

While Percival had forgotten the events of that abandoned classroom, his injuries would tell the tale. No scar, it was just teeth and the torn flesh would heal through magical mediation weeks ago. Only the memory of the raw ache would remain. The circumstances of the injury forgotten for their specifics, the injury was familiar.

"Erin! No! Please! You have to let us help you!"

Serena Towers would call out to the panicking, agitated girl that was whirling about, snapping recklessly at her contemporaries. Blood stained Erin's face and painted her clothes in gore. The taste of human flesh hardly a deterrent, if anything the taste oddly familiar. A taboo that Erin Ryan would embrace. Erin would not stop, she would not comply. She ran. She fought. Her legs feeling too long, her thin arms gangly, in her hunkered over posture her fingertips would scrape across the sodden earth as she rushed away. Pushing herself off of Percival, while her voracious hunger was hardly sated, greater threads abound.

Threats such as one Serena Towers.

She did not trust the small wizard, she was like the rest of them. Hellions in formal attire. "Dangerous, they scream," Erin cried. Her vision wobbly, her bones aching, and her heart bounding in her chest. The vile circles they painted. The danger sticks they wielded. A chunk of Percival, a snack would fall from her maw which remained agape.

"Epoximise!"

With a cringe, a crunch that shot an electrical current of pain down her her back. No time to wait or wail about. Time to run. Time to break away or be stuck to the ground like a moth stuck to flypaper. With a stumble and a broken gait, her leg did not want to work right.

"Rhhheee!" An inhuman sound would escape her chapped lips. Erin would avoid Serena's attack.

Erin would rush and possibly tumble as she attempted to escape Tower's assault. "Erin, please! You have to just trust us. Just this once. Just stay still, please," Serena would beg but her pleas would fall on terrified, deaf ears. Pleas are not made by those armed with deadly weapons.

The ground was wavering, sound as if the part-goblin was calling out to her from underwater. Burbling, belching, bursts of noise. She was not going to stay still, where the violence was. Where the rings of angry stink are laid on the ground threatening to shrivel her very essence. "Never!" The madwoman declared, intent on not only escape but also violence as the slugs gnawed their last.

"I promise we'll do everything we can to get these slugs out of you and keep you safe but you need to listen to us, even if it's scary, please."

Erin shook her head side to side stubbornly. "They bite!" A warning, a deterrent, a reason. Halting only in words, if she had the freedom of movement she would scramble away. A desperate bid for absolutely nothing, she was powerless in the face of futility. The change was happening, they wiggled and crawled and screamed. Everything was distorted and every instinct within her sinewy frame demanded survival with the slugs. Having eaten away at her, a near hollow vessel ready to transform at the stroke of midnight, she was hardly better than a meat puppet with a spark of sentience. A thread of will, too confounded to act reasonably. "They scream and they say you're bad!"

The rings, the slug repellant that had a pair of concentric circles about her hardly trapped her. Their plan thwarted by the fact that Erin could step over the rings. She would flee, seeking the liberation of earth that was not so vile.

"I'm sorry, Erin!"

The Candy King would announce his apology before he made his assault. Erin hardly had time to pass her gaze in his direction, she could hardly remember his name. Only that apologies antecedent to an act would prove tragic. "Lies, they scream!"

"Slugulus Eructo!"

Galton would incant and the duelist would discover the unlikely, unlikeable truth. The mad girl was wily and expeditious, if only her mind did not lack for what her endurance and brawn offered. She was fast but the question was - was she fast enough? Could she avoid and could she endure.

She would avoid the attack. A sloppy, sideways tumble. No worries, beneath that oversized plaid shirt was other garments. There was nothing that would never be unseen (or breaking site rating) and everyone could thank Merlin for that.

Over-stimulated, there were far too many of them. She was avoiding their attacks, but it was hardly like a 1980's martial arts movie where the enemies encircled the protagonist and attacked one by one. Illowy would push her way through the throngs of ball-goers, those that did not care about the chaos or the dramatic scene. Blinded or perhaps numb to these terrible things, they would leave Erin to her fate and let whoever she dragged with her go to hell with her. Illowy recognized Erin from the ball where Erin's fledgling hag status was becoming apparent. She had taken Kyle DeRook to the ball, the Gryffindor Quidditch player an obvious choice -- he was strong, she saw it on the pitch, he had a scars and she had come to believe he was fearless. She considered him aspirational. While love, like and even lust was not possible with her broken, bleeding heart (thanks Jack) that she locked away still beating and left in Oliver's possession. Still, she took him for selfish reasons that Kye did not deserve. She was thinking of Jack when she asked Kyle to that ball. She did not want him to see her alone, to know... well, that hardly mattered, everything was a lie.

The important fact to take from here was that ball was when Erin's terrible curse was made apparent. The signs had been ongoing for years. The scars that Thomas revealed on that night but Howard saw first. The madness and the paranoia that had been rife in in her interactions all these years. The cull of the death witch. The giant uprising. The whispers and the faces in the rain. The madness that was progressive and people simply thought it was just her, as her vernacular dwindled and her cruel nature as she was never conventionally "good" but what she had become was 'changed' to its very core and nobody even noticed.

"Pertrificus Totalus!" Illowy would cry.

The hag slugs had chosen a fine vessel, the girl who was fearless had come to fear so much that she honed her body like an obsession. She was stronger, faster and more physically capable than her peers. Illowy would miss, like the rest. "They come, they snatch and they grab..." she muttered loud enough to be heard but not intended for anyone in particular. She staggered, her eyes leveling on which of the many threats she would need to focus on to choose one.

The king of pricks, even if he was more likely a deathwitch wannabe than an actual threat if she was going to die she was going to take his dumb ass with her. She would rush Thomas LeStrange and as she did a demon would come at her from her periphery. "The gates of hell being held open by their ire," her pale eyes, the only thing recognizable after the passage of years and the plethora of changes.

Xailah Alptraum attempted to tackle Erin. She would miss and fail. "A demon that was too slow," she would look back and see the cat demon. Yes, moving forward, Moving faster. Get away. But blood. But Thomas' blood. She wanted to take a bite of something foul.

Unlikely to survive, she was going to rip out LeStrange's throat.

Action: Attempting to take a bite out of Thomas LeStrange. The bloodier, the better.
Inventory: Wand, a neat piece of wood she found.
Attire: Dress, barefoot, hair as pictured above.
Interacts with: @Percival Gray, @Thomas LeStrange, @Serena Towers, @Xailah Alptraum, @Galton Lansdale and @Illowy Magnard.
Mentions: Jurgen Hess, @Hugh Lowe and @Tyranni Whitethorn

Note: Becomes a hag at the stroke of midnight (this is defined by the moderators of this thread).

Interacting with @Hugh Lowe, @Galton Lansdale, @Tyranni Whitethorn, @Jürgen Hess and @Erin Ryan

Dammit, Serena cursed to herself mentally as she watched her spell miss Erin easily. They were all missing. Perhaps these stupid slugs gave Erin some sort of superhuman speed. Were hags just naturally fast and evasive because if so, that would make a lot of sense. Either way, the panic was rising in her. She knew she had to stop Erin, she had to get the slugs out of her... If Erin just stood still, this would be so much easier. Their best plan was to keep her in the circle until she vomited out these slugs and then had her pulled out of there before they tried to attack her. It would keep everyone else safe too.

"Of course they are saying that! They don't want us to help you! They know we're trying to get them out of you, we're trying to save you, Erin. Please, you have to believe us. Just... give us one chance," She practically begged Erin, trying to get her to stop running around and attacking people for just one second. That was all they needed to stop her.

But time was of the essence. She did not trust - or like, for that matter - the boy who was trying to murder Erin (what was wrong with him that he thought it was acceptable to actually try and kill someone!). But that did not matter. If there was any truth in his words, if today was truly the day that she turned then... it had to be done. And it had to be done now. They were running out of time and Serena refused to go down without putting up a solid fight. Erin might not have been a friend but she was not about to stand by and allow this to happen. "I'm sorry, Erin. Pizza... it's go time..." She placed the rat that she had been carrying around on the ground. He was never meant to attack Erin, not at all. His purpose was to eat a couple of the slugs. Rats apparently did that and if there were dozens of them, it was easier to get him to find the ones that the others missed. They could only stomp on a few - though Hugh was definitely better at stomping than she would be.

Pizza Rat was not meant to be involved in this... but there was no choice. His target was no longer the slugs, but rather the one harbouring them and trying to avoid getting hit. His goal was to bite her, to just distract her for all of one second so that the others could cast the spells they needed to. Not wanted to. But needed to cast.

"I'm so sorry, Erin, Slugulus Eructo!", She called out, repeating her apology as she pointed her wand at Erin. She wanted to glue her down, with the hopes that she could cast the spell without fully paralyzing her. But time... was not on their side.

SERENA'S ACTION: Casting Slug Vomiting Charm on Erin
Pizza Rat's Action: Bite Erin

Stamina: 10 | Evasion: 13 | Strength: 1 | Wisdom: 15 | Arcane Power: 5 | Accuracy: 10
Abilities: Part-Goblin, Evasive Maneuvers, Beastmaster
Fifth-Year Armour: +10% auto-dodge on attacks [=20% auto-dodge overall]

Pizza Rat 200/200 Health
Can bite a target, inflicting them with 25 damage and a diseases status -1 evasion (stacks up to 3 times) on a single target per attack.

Trunk Items: Wand, Invisibility Cloak, Magical Candle (unlit), Repellent for Slugs
Other Items: Gideon's Sugar-free Candy (acquired here)

Outfit of the Day (with winged boots and wristguard wand holder)

@Santario Martin, @Erin Ryan, @Henry Knight and @Selim Faust

Everything was going so fast, one minute he watched his spell land true on Victor the next a sharp and violent pain shot through his arm like a bullet. Looking down to his forearm he saw Erin sink her sharp teeth into his soft flesh. The boy could only shoot his eyes open in shock before she powerfully tugged back her head to rip off a large chunk of fresh meat. Blood instantly spurted from the wound, covering Erins upper body in the sticky red liquid which was keeping him alive

Percival reared his head back and yelled at the top of his lungs, one of which only a wounded animal would make when it was trapped by a predator. After a few seconds, his legs began to wobble until he crumbled down to a kneeling position on the ballroom floor, leaving his limp left arm to hang uselessly as blood poured down to the floor like a waterfall. Panting heavily, he could barely express the pain he was in, one of which felt all too familiar. It... It kind of felt like the same as his shoulder injury, where he apparently faced Erin on his own according to San. This wasn't the first time she did this to him...

Luckily, it didn't take long for his fellow dormmates to come to his aid. Henry Knight and Selim Faust came beside the fallen prefect, doing their best to calm him down and apply bandages to the wound "W-where is she?!" he asked frantically through the sheer agony in his voice, his head tiredly looking through the row of bodies that covered his vision of the dance floor. For a brief second, he saw the outline of Erin running at a vulnerable Lestrange, who for sure would suffer the same fate as he did "We... We need to slug her... NOW!" the boy croaked with urgency. Raising the bloodied right hand to the shirt of Selim, he tried to grab hold of it tightly and help himself to a standing position while Knight summoned bandages around his arm. If any of them complained he'd suddenly raise his voice and release a vicious and determined growl "No... NO! JUST GET ME STANDING ALRIGHT?!" it was almost like a plea of desperation, he couldn't bear watching anyone else getting hurt tonight. He wasn't going to let the hags do what they wanted, this had to end tonight.

After a few moments of hesitation, Selim struggled to help the prefect to his feet. If it wasn't the fact he was sick before the bite he probably would have had enough strength himself to do the job. However, the shock of having a large chunk of your torn off really made him exhausted. Selim stumbled slightly as he pulled the taller Gray up, but with grit, he managed to keep him upright with an arm over his shoulder "K-keep me steady..." the boy gasped while his shaking right hand took aim at the hag named Erin. It was almost impossible to slow down his agonized panting in time to stop Erin. He had to do it now before she sunk her teeth into another student's flesh "Slugulus Eructo"

Action: Permission granted from Selim to god mod, This would allow him to try and fire a Slugulus Eructo at a rampaging Erin.

Selim Text Color: #4d0f25
Aku Text Color: #614f6d

"Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, it seems to me most strange that men should fear seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come."- William Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar'

This really was a mess. His roommate insisted on still trying to fight despite losing way too much blood and likely having his wound infested with bacteria. Well, Selim totally understood that the situation did call for action, no professors were arriving, and the only one he had seen at the festival had entered the interior part of the whole ball, the quidditch pitch.

Though he supposed Mr. Paine could also be lurking around in child form like the suspicious adult he was. Selim disliked the way that man used his ability, it made his skin crawl.

His head shot up at the sound of someone yelling as loud as possible that Davenport was also a hag, trying to get the attention of the prementioned professor, apparently. Well, it seemed his views on that viper were justified, he hadn't been sure he could label the girl a Hag, she didn't show many of the signs, and before the confirmation, all he knew was that the last time he had seen the girl she had been spewing vile black bile all over herself.

Not much to go on, at the time he was stressed as well seeing as how his aversion to drinking potions had sent him into a panic along with his migraine and other bodily injuries. At the time he had the brilliant idea of packaging doses of potions into clear capsules as the muggles did with some of their medicine. Sadly, the owl he sent to St.Mungos suggesting that design and a bit of pay for his creative property have remained unanswered.

Well, now the fact that they were actually dealing with two hags just made everything else more chaotic. Gray was yelling, telling him and their housemate to get him on his feet so he could attack the rampaging hag of the two. Time was really of the essence because Erin was charging right at LeStrange. Yikes.

Selim hoped that boy's family had health insurance... wait did Wizards even need health insurance?

No matter. The rabbit-skulled boy looked down at his desperate roommate, pondering the situation. He himself had no intentions of trying to help anyone else from getting mauled by Erin, they had all brought it upon themselves really. Gray, on the other hand, had just been doing his duty as a prefect and had been attempting to keep students from trying to attack each other with their weapons of mass destruction that got handed to them t the age of eleven.

Still, if Gray's blood pressure kept going up, the wound was just going to bleed worse, right? Heart pumping blood faster, veins constricting from the stress and adrenaline, Selim didn't know too much about medical sciences, just enough to keep himself from taking magical remedies as little as possible but this was a logical connection, no?

So, since Selim could only stab, kick, and punch, Henry was busy trying to wrangle magic and make it obey his command, and the girls that had randomly just arrived were busy not noticing that this really wasn't the time to try and calm panicking Gray down nor did they seem to have any intention of keeping other students from bleeding out after getting chunks torn out fo them by an almost-hag. So, well, out of the four of them, Gray was the only one who could attack.

After that hesitation, as he thought out their options, taking into consideration the prefect's apparent stubbornness, and came to the conclusion that arguing his roommate's will... was a completely pointless endover.

So, Selim made sure his lantern-staff was firmly planted in the ground, stooped down, and slung the boy's injured arm around his shoulders, gripping his waist with his closest hand to keep him steady, just as requested. The height difference and sudden weight made him stumble for a moment. After all, Gray was a whole head taller than him, thanks to Selim's Asian heritage and past instances of malnutrition.

Hopefully despite that, he'd be elevating the wounded arm just enough to slow down the bleeding. Sadly the blood that was once streaming to the ground, was now getting all over his cloathes. The bone-masked third year was glad he had been able to use the cleaning charm effectively after some rigorous practice. Well, this wasn't the first time he had been covered in blood, probably wouldn't be his last either if he kept staying at Hogwarts.

The perfect, when standing, straightened (or tried to) his free arm, grasping his wand. The whole thing shook under the stress of his injury. The shorter boy supposed that most of his peers probably weren't, well, used to pain. Selim was, for various reasons, so his tolerance was quite high. Obviously Gray's was not.

Letting out a tired sigh, Selim shifted, bracing himself against this roommate to keep him standing better so he himself could reach out and try to steady the boy's aim. Hopefully, the boy would let him, this was no place for pride, after all, they and their peers were in life-or-death situations, or at the very least life-impacting situations. So a steady aim for the wily hag was paramount, and Selim was uninjured and had pretty decent accuracy.

When he got a good grip, Selim helped keep the arm from shaking, and also tried to assist in aiming the spell as well. Icy hues narrowing, the masked boy tried to lock onto Erin, someone else called out a spell as well, the same one Gray was using apparently. The robed third-year wasn't sure if the slug hex would actually force the slugs the feal girl apparently had in her body out. Didn't it create slugs? He had never heard of it expelling already-existing slugs out of people, and if it worked what then? Cursed slugs would apparently be on the loose, wouldn't that be a bigger problem?

Why not just stab something sharp and pointy in the back of her head and kill off her body's motor skills. Then perhaps they could also try and encase her in something to keep those slugs from escaping.

... Well, he wasn't the magic-versed one here, hopefully, a professor would come to the rescue, seeing as how there are currently two students bleeding out now and two loose hag girls ruining everyone's night. Selim didn't recall hag-self-defence class being part of the curriculum after all, so there was a slight issue to leaving students to deal with such a dangerous problem.

"You know, I think you're overachieving on your job as a prefect here, Gray... Well, hopefully, those bandages will be enough to keep you from bleeding out... and the inevitable infections of being bitten by a human-hag don't set in too quickly." Selim muttered to his dormmate in a sardonic tone. The situation was definitely not looking up for the students, and having the close equivalent of a starving, rabid chimaera rampaging about wasn't really something students should be handling, prefect or not.

Yet here they are, trying to do just that with rudimentary knowledge about hags, and an unfinished arsenal of magical spells.

Selim was sure this would totally work out just fine, with absolutely no incidences of students gambling with death.
.
.
.
The boy sighed, once again questioning his life choices. "Troublesome indeed..."

Full Outfit:

Reducio

Close. But not close enough. Stringy threads of flaxen hair slipped through thin fingers, escaping their reaching grasp. Xailah swiped, stumbled, but caught herself. Exhaled with a surprised hiss. Erin lurched forward towards her new choice of prey, hands wrapping, jaw locking, teeth clasping around cloth and skin. Squelching. Bleeding. Ryan would claim her second victim, a Slytherin prefect, but she would not stop there. Her sights would be set on a potential third victim- Thomas Lestrange- who was already juggling his share of trouble. The girl was picking, choosing. There was order, in the path of disorder she was creating.

Erin's ramblings had an odd sense familiarity. They were reminiscent of Kaegens, or so Xailah thought. He always spoke of worlds belonging to man and monster, and how she, Xailah, walked the line between them. Demon, Erin had murmured. A demon. It was enough to make Xailah pause her attack. Question it. Until, a voice called; completely pulling her away from Erin for a dreadful second. Xailah had an ear for the voices she found reassuring; Illowys happening to be one of the few. Illowy had proven herself to be reliable. A friend in times of distress. She met the serpent's call, with a wild stare; her eyes pale, and wide, like twin harvest moons; the pupils painted thin, fading into nearly nonexistent lines. The call had been unexpected. The chase halted for a moment.

This was funny. Funny in the most twisted sense. Somehow, some way, Xailah and Illowy always ran into each other at the worst times. Xailah usually had some sort of involvement, and Illowy usually stumbled into the middle of whatever had been started. So when Illowy asked her question, Xailah was at a loss for words. Surprisingly. For once, she was the one who didn't have a clue as to why any of this was happening. The answers had been shouted, several times- between the small group that was after Erin, yes- but it was hard to decipher any of it, with the constant pounding that was thrumming throughout her head. She decided the best thing to do first, was to confirm that she was alright. "Yes, I am fine!" Usually that was followed with a polite "how are you", but given the circumstances that would have been highly inappropriate.

She couldn't tell the Slytherin that she didn't know what was going on. Hearing such wasn't very reassuring. She couldn't point out the obvious either. Erin's gone looney- as if that wasn't clear already. She stared for a second- a second too long- trying to fish for something to say. "Ryan," she finally managed towards Illowy; jutting a sharp, guiding finger towards Erin. "She needs to be caught." Yes. Caught. Like some poor butterfly. A very greasy, very dangerous, tartan-patterned butterfly. Time was precious now, and if too many seconds were spent on chatter, who knew what sort of window of opportunity could be opened- or closed. Erin was leaving a trail in her wake. Xailah continued to dart after her, weaving between students, and incoming spells aimed at the ghoulish witchling. Should none of the spells touch the eel-like serpent; Xailah would try, once again, to draw the wild girl into her clawed grip.

If any of the immobilizing spells hit Erin:
Not long after her reply, another cry was heard. The voice did not belong to Illowy this time; it was however a voice she knew, and it was the same one that had brought her attention to this part of the festival. The sentence spewed was most bizarre, but strangely enough, it clicked well. Marion is a hag, was all Xailah had heard when Santario delivered her shrill cry for help. That was all she needed to hear. Marion. Is. A. Hag. Xailahs attention swiveled; her body turning with it in a sharp twist. She didn't waste time with contemplating her next action. Her attack would be redirected.

“Stay down, @Jürgen Hess.” Hugh repeated as he walked closer to the boy on the ground. “Let us handle this. I'm asking you to sit this one out.” He'd stop, noticing his dazed friend looking for his wand. There were several things he could do at this point. Knock Jürgen out, break his wand, break his arm, maybe plural… Hugh pushed all these thoughts to the back of his mind as he witnessed the moment of weakness. Diplomacy was a nice thing. The problem was that Hugh disliked 'nice'. Cupcakes were 'nice', convincing your currently-murderous former-vigilante former-friend to lay down his arms, quite literally, did not seem like the 'nicest' base for any conversation.

The crowd was beginning to surround and attack Erin, closing in on her and bombarding her with spells. There were other targets around, but Hugh didn't have a single clue on who they were and what they meant. At this point, chaos didn't come knocking on the door, it had barged right through the hinges. “So what's the deal, Jürgen? I need to know if I can trust you.” Hugh said with a matter-of-fact tone. “I don't have time for your personal vendetta with her. As you can clearly see, we're dealing with the situation now. What I COULD use from you, is your help in subduing her and getting those slugs out of her.”

“And if that's not happening… You know I'll stop you.” Hugh did not look at Jürgen as he spoke. He wanted the other Gryffindor to understand, trust him for once in his miserable life. “You once stopped me from retaliating against a drugged Galton. You trusted him enough to be good back then. Now I need you to trust me that we're going to end this thing without killing Erin.” The part-giant looked down at the other boy. “Because it's the 'nice' thing to do.”

Action: Nothing active for now, trying to convince Jürgen to help them out.
Inventory: Wand & Repellent for Slugs
Attire: Something not plaid or fancy looking. And a Copper Kettle Helmet.
Interacts with: @Jürgen Hess

Erin was fast. Terrifyingly so. Galton couldn’t count the amount of spells that had flashed within the crowd out at her, but all of them had been avoided. Even his own! It was a tad embarrassing for the duelist, but that’s what you get when you don’t really want to cause the other person pain (not that he did during duels… that’s different).

The crowd would once again descend into chaos. It was hard to keep track of most people. Hugh was easy to spot, but just about everyone else started to blend together. The small Serena? Ummm maybe over there? Hess? No idea. Bodies moving and moving. And Erin had really moved. Moved right out of their oh-so nice slug rings. That was an issue. That was a big issue. If she spewed up slugs now they’d have to deal with rampaging slugs all over the grounds. That was really an issue.

His wand would go down, the slug repellent went up. Time for more circles. He’d break off after Erin, starting to spray the repellent in a trail as he speed walked in a circle around the girl. She was trying to attack people, so it wasn’t so hard to get around her. "Erin! Please stay in the circle, please!" He shouted towards the feeding teen. Somewhere deep down Galton felt like he related to the primal urge that she was feeling right now, memories of past Halloweens and his crown locked away.

Outfit: Robes (seasonal colors)
Inventory: Wand, repellent for slugs, 2x jelly slugs, sherbet lemon.
Stats/Abilities:

Reducio

STAMINA: 11
EVASION: 12
STRENGTH: 3
WISDOM: 11
ARCANE POWER: 5
ACCURACY: 10

Abilities:
Evasive maneuvers
Spell Spread
Evasive Maneuvers II
Blindvision

Action: Circling Erin in slug repellent once again (8ft radius again?)
Interacts with: @Hugh Lowe, @Erin Ryan, @Serena Towers, and @Jürgen Hess