The Drowning of Eris PV Eris Elcan Finished

The sound had been echoing in Eris's ears all day. A sweet, haunting melody, sounding like something her mother used to sing to Eris and her sister, Belladonna, when they were young enough to want to listen to lullabies,without deeming them babyish. There were no words that Eris could hear, just the soft whisper of a melody that echoed through the wings of the castle, and through every bone of Eris's small body.

Her feet had moved of their own accord, trudging down the stairs from the common room, through the great hall, and then through the grass. All the while, Eris had a vacant expression her face. Her feet were bare, crunching through the grass. Robes flying behind her, Eris looked like a character out of a horror movie. She didn't see her fellow team mate by the lake's edge, as her gaze was solely fixed on the water of the lake, as if she could see something moving under the soft ripples of the

No noise mattered besides the haunting singing, which was getting closer and closer as Eris walked closer to the lake. If Eris was reasonable , she would stopped her frantic walk towards the edge of the lake, but there was something about the music that stripped away any bit of reason from Eris's head. All Eris wanted was to find the source of the beautiful singing.

Pushing against the small voice in the back of her head that told her not to go into the murky waters of the lake, Eris took a step into the cold water. It lapped around her bare feet, and robes. Eris kept walking, deeper and deeper into the lake. In three more steps she was fully submerged and the unearthly song's lyrics could be heard.

They weren't the beautiful words of a child's melody, but promises of pain and death, among other things. In the shadows surrounding Eris, through the folds of her robe covering her face, the young girl could see ghostly faces cooing in glee at the sinking child. The faces weren't anything like Eris's mother, who she had assumed was singing the melody. Once reality returned to Eris, she attempted to scream. Only bubbles came out, and she swallowed a mouth full of water.

She started to kick in vain, trying to reach the surface, only to feel phantom hands pull her down. Kicking robes out of her face, and flailing her arms around, Eris caught another glimpse of the faces dragging her down. They were woman with greyish skin and long, wild, dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, as they grinned at the red-head. She kicked and clawed at her robes, trying to escape the thralls of whatever the things dragging her down were.

Of course, under water the young girl was struggling. Above land, at the surface of the lake, only bubbles could be seen.

 The sun seriously felt amazing. And that wasn't a lie. Since winter ended and spring began, Sabrina was definitely in better spirits. Sure, snowball fights and building snowmen was right up her alley, but she much preferred the warm days where she can wear tees and shorts. Hopefully, those days would come sooner rather than later. The girl put her book down next to her, the words facing the ground to keep her spot between the pages. 

 The clouds have cleared away for now, leaving the sunlight to directly shine on the lake. It made the small ripples in the water sparkle, and it was honestly a beautiful sight. She could look at this sight for the rest of the day if she really wanted to. A movement from the corner of her eye caught Sabrina's attention though; her Quidditch team mate - Eris? Erin? Something like that - was heading towards the water. In her robes? If Sabrina thought back to the school rules, swimming in the Great Lake was forbidden because of the creatures beneath the surface. And if she thought about common sense, people did not decide to go swimming in their school uniform.

 Leaving her book in the grass, Sabrina went after her, "Eris?" She called out, speeding up her walking pace to more of a speed-walk. She wasn't stopping, and it made Sabrina wonder. "Eris!" She broke into a jog as the girl submerged under the water. Sabrina waited at the edge of the water for a few moments, watching to see if she would reemerge. The girl's heart was pounding hard against her chest - what was going on? Was it a prank, perhaps? It didn't seem like it, because she wasn't coming back up. Instead, bubbles rose to the surface. Was she drowning? Taking off her sweatshirt had never happened so quickly. Hopefully, the knitted sweater underneath wouldn't be too uncomfortable afterwards.

 Of course, that was what she was worrying about now. 

 Taking a millisecond to prepare herself, Sabrina ran into the water, tensing as the ice cold water splashed against her legs. The jeans were already giving her trouble. Why hadn't she just worn a skirt like normal? Surely, that would make this a lot easier than it was going to be. Once she was deep enough, she took a deep, deep breath before submerging herself underwater as well, swimming a little bit before opening her eyes. 

 It was hard to stay underwater with air in her, but with the right movements of arms - and a lot of struggling - she was able to relatively stay in place. Thankfully, Eris - Erin? - wasn't too far away. Kicking her legs and trying her best to propel herself with her arms, she drew closer to Erin, but also noticed the other creatures with them. Furrowing her eyebrows and blinking her eyes a few times - they were really starting to get irritated in the murky waters -  Sabrina swam forward further, clutching onto the other girl's wrist with both of her own hands, and tugging as hard as she could, trying to swim away, to the surface at least so that they could get away.

Eris's head was pounding like crazy, well every cell in her body was screaming out for oxygen. For the sweet sunlight and air that was just above her, right out of the little-red head's reach. The things holding her legs kept tugging, pushing Eris down further and further into the murky brown water. Their beautiful voices beckoning for Eris to stop fighting and let them drag her down into the promising watery darkness. Eris kept fighting the watery creatures dragging her down, as they kept pulling her deeper and deeper into the murky waters of the Great Lake, all the while singing their songs, which no longer sounded like her mother's lullabies.

Eris was enveloped by the dark indigo body of water, no longer able to see the rare April sunshine shining above the lake. The incredible pressure compressed her chest, forcing her lungs to burn as if on fire. Her heart began hammering, increasing in intensity and speed, like a bird trapped in a cage.Eris, normally able to calm her frantic heartbeat in situations that unsavory, had no control over the feeling in her heart. Everything hurt and her throat seared in agony with the rising pressure of trapped air. Head pounding with panic, threatening to explode any second, Eris gave into the pressure and took a breath of air, only to swallow half of the great lake in her desperate

Icy cold water was thrust up Eris's nostrils, a stream going down into the back of her throat and nose, sending jets of pain through her tiny body. Slowly, the commotion and chaotic sounds of the mermaids singing and screeching drowned out to a low hum, buzzing at her ears, gradually muting into blissful silence, as her eyes slowly closed, bowing to the insurmountable pressure surronding every part of her body, and making her feel oh-so-heavy, She gave up on the screaming, on the thrashing, allowing the mermaids to tug her limp body down to wherever they wanted to take her. As her vision blurred out and her consciousness faltered, her body became limp in the grasp of the evil fish-ladies grasp and she waited for the mermaid creatures to drag her down to the bottom of the lake, too tired to continue thrashing. She just needed a small..nap..

Eris had already lost consciousness when her dorm mate and the Gryffidor team's seeker swam down into the murky water of the lake and tugged the Eris up. The mermaids let go of the prefect with a hiss of displeasure at finding another human there to meddle in their fun, and considering the other girl was taller, they gave Eris up to her without a fight. Most likely assuming the other girl was an older student, with more magical prowess than Eris could display.

As most people were in water, Eris was easy to drag up due to the buoyancy of the water in the lake. She had no idea that she was being saved by another girl from her house, although if she was awake, Eris would of insisted on saving herself.

[font=Archivo Black] Oh Merlin. Thankfully, this was one of the times where Sabrina's adrenaline got the better of her over her fear. She hated swimming, she was terrible at it, and it made her wonder why she had even tried to go and save her teammate and dormmate. But that was just that, it was the right thing to do. No ands, ifs, nor buts. She would save Eris if it was the last thing she lived for. Because even if she hadn't, the guilt would kill her anyways.[/font]

[font=Archivo Black] A scream erupted from Sabrina, but all that came out was bubbles and all that she got in return was a mouth full of gross, unsanitary, murky lake water. A piece of seaweed had wrapped itself around her ankle and tangled itself on her shoe. Darn, she had forgotten to take off her shoes. Her Mary Janes were definitely ruined now. But that was not what was on her mind - escaping was. She tugged, and tugged, and tugged like a wrathful force until her ankle broke free. She never even realized they had been so close to the bottom of the lake. [/font]

[font=Archivo Black] Getting to the surface only took a few more brief moments, and her head resurface above the water. She took in a huge gasp of air, re-positioning Eris in her arms so that she was for sure able to get air of any type in. Sabrina just hoped she wasn't too late. To have someone die on her like this would be dreadful, and it would live with her for the rest of her years. She paddled herself and Erin to shore, though struggling greatly to make sure Eris's face wasn't down in the water. When they reached a shallower part and Sabrina could walk, she was panting. She would never go swimming again, even to save a person.[/font]

[font=Archivo Black]  She collapsed on the sand, her muscles tired and her nostrils sore. She was almost positive that lake water remained in her lungs. She had practically dropped Eris next to her, and suddenly realized she should at least try and feel for a pulse, or at least listen to her breathing. If she was breathing. No, Sabrina, that is no way to think. She took a finger and poked at Eris's neck, keeping her finger in one spot for a few moments before moving it to another, feeling for something - anything. She didn't know any first aid, and she doubted a periculum would be seen at this time; she didn't want Eris to die.[/font]

[font=Archivo Black] A wave of relief washed over the Gryffindor girl as she felt the faintness of a pulse. Hopefully, it was enough. All of her muscles ached from working against the devious waters, and she just needed.. a rest. She laid back down on her back, flat, staring up at the sky. Her previously red hair now appeared an auburn, clinging to her face, wet. She had paled, and was shivering from the temperatures of the water. It was so much warmer on shore. She felt like the lake had absorbed every last ounce of energy from her. She was drained.[/font]

A mix of lake water and fighting with sea-monsters was not good for one's health. Nor one's dreams. Eris was unconscious as one could be, but a mix of feverish dreams clouded her mind.

In her strange state of dream like delirium, vivid images flashed through Eris's brain. She was floating in a lake made of fizzy soda, and everytime she drunk some of it, more would appear. She was floating in the fizzy drink, as it stuck to her clothes, making it fall down further and further into the abyss of brown liquid that was surrounding her. Then there was Sabrina, complaining that she hated coke, and with a flash, the liquid was gone and the two girls were standing on an island composed of mermaid tails. Sabrina looked at Eris, and laughed and the island exploded into an a brightly colored rainbow. The rainbow faded away, and Eris was lying on the shore of the Great Lake.

Eris let out a let out a wet, loud cough, and turned over onto her side. With a reaching noise, about half of the great lake came pouring out of her mouth. Exhausted, Eris flopped back onto the dirt, too tired to turn to whoever had saved her. Closing her eyes again, Eris breathed in deeply, releshing the feeling of the breeze and the sunlight on her wet clothing. She was alive, and could breath again. But how?

With an iron-clad will, Eris pushed herself up to a sitting position and stared at the brown haired girl lying in the shade. She was sopping wet too, so obviously she was the one who had saved Eris. Unless she had randomly gone for a swim, although Eris found that extremely unlikely. Coughing again, Eris studied the girl with the mop of auburn hair. She was wearing mary janes like Sabrina always did, and a sweater that Sabrina always wore. But her hair was brown. Sabrina's was red? Exhaustion giving way to confusion, Eris realized she didn't care what color Sabrina's hair was. Deciding the other girl was really Sabrina, Eris let out another cough.

Her throat felt sore and itchy, like it was going to give up on her. When Eris tried to speak, everything hurt, and her voice came out scratchy and rough. "Thank you.." She muttered to the other girl, before falling back down into the dirt. Closing her eyes again, Eris found it hard to think, much less speak to the other girl.

She just needed a quick nap, before talking to Sabrina again. Struggling to stay awake, Eris let out another slight cough. The coughs were getting better, no longer sounding wet and full of lake water. It seemed she had gotten the most of the water out of her lung, although a trip to the hospital wing would have to come at some point. But first, sleep.

 How long had it been since Sabrina dragged Eris out of the water? Seconds.. minutes.. hours? Time flew by so quickly that Sabrina couldn't even tell anymore. Her eyes were drooping to a close - there was no doubt she would end up getting some sort of nasty cold from this. A groan erupted from her. She did not want to come down with a common cold. Or worse, Krokonophitis. She wasn't even really sure what it was, other than an illness that her mother told her she would never want to encounter. Apparently, Sabrina's Nana suffered from it for a while, and it was lucky that she got out of it alive.

 Suddenly, a chorus of coughs erupted from the girl that the redhead had dragged out of the water. As much as she didn't want to open her eyes, she did so as well as sitting up in her spot. A wave of nausea hit her considering she was still getting over the fact that she had dived into the water, even though she royally sucked at swimming. She had no idea how she made it, but supposed the adrenaline that had coursed through her veins had at least a little to do with it. 

 The girl looked to the other Gryffindor, her lips slightly parted, still a blueish shade from the coldness that the dark depths of the lake waters provided. She was having trouble speaking herself, more or less so from gulping down mouthfuls of water and almost drowning herself. It was hard not to collapse herself and take a short journey to Dreamland, but it was more or less better to do so somewhere safe, like the hospital wing. The thanks that Eris provided was unneeded, to say the least, and Sabrina shrugged it off, her heart still relentlessly beating against her chest from the fright of her friend dying on her.

 "It wasn't a big.. deal.." Sabrina trailed off, watching as the other girl fell back into the relatively cold sand they were in, her eyes closing. Panic flooded her system - what was she supposed to do? Her own body was tired as Harry Potter's was following the War of Hogwarts, probably. She could go for a nap too, but something in her pulled her to her feet, and she trudged over to Eris.

 "Come on, you can't sleep here, Eris.." She looked around them to see if anyone would be able to help, but the area was vacant. "Let's go to the dormitory, at least. Or the hospital wing? I'm sure the nurse would like to see you. You almost drowned." Sabrina crouched down, grasping the girl's wrist into her grip, continuing to tug on her arm. "You could go into a coma, you know? Like those super long sleeps where it takes a long time to wake up. Or maybe even die!" She exclaimed. She didn't know for sure if this were true or not, but finding things to motivate her dormmate with was a difficult task, to say the least. She hoped Eris wouldn't go into a coma or die, that would be unfortunate.

Sleep. Colors danced on the eyelids of Eris's tightly closed eyes. She felt more tired than she had ever felt, probably as tired as Loki had felt after Hulk body slammed him in the avengers movie she had watched with the Harringtoms. That was saying something, comparing her tiredness and pain to the pain a god felt after being slammed around by an a million pound green dude. That was a clear sign that she was either a drama queen, or was in extreme pain. Or, most likely, a mix of both.

Eris never wanted to wake up. She wanted to spend the rest of her life on the shore of the great lake, sleeping forever in the cold sand. The only thing that made her unable to sleep was the annoying chatter of her teeth, and the occasional shiver that wracked her small body. Sabrina started to speak, penetrating the veil of tired numbness encasing Eris's body and mind. She sounded tired too. Maybe they could nap together. Yes. That sounded..fun.

Eyes still closed, Eris curled into a ball. It was really cold. Why was it so cold? The sun was shining before Eris had been pulled under the waters, and it was still shining now, but yet, the world was cold. Everything was cold. Too tired to reply to Sabrina, Eris wrapped her arms more tightly around her knees, and shut her eyes even tighter, against the ray of sun that could still be seen through closed lids.

Now it was dark, and Eris could finally sleep. The chills faded away, as Eris allowed herself to sink into sleep. Everything was fine, until the sloshing of wet shoes sounded near her face. Sighing, Eris opened her eyes to see whoever had intruded upon her sleep.

It was, of course, Sabrina. The other girl looked horrible, hair plastered to her face, and a tired expression on her face. She looked so horrible that Eris vaguely wondered if she looked even worse than the other girl, having been underwater longer. It was a struggle to keep her eyes open, as an unknown force pushed her eyes down, making it almost impossible to keep them open.

Eris's eyes were half closed, as she replied to Sabrina, who was going on about comas and other things. Eris had to admit a coma sounded nice. Sleeping forever sounded amazing, but maybe, it would be good to go to the hospital wing.

Uncurling herself from the tight ball, Eris stood up,, slowly, steadying herself as she went. "Les o." she said drowsily, becoming more and more tired by the moment. She had meant to say 'let's go', but found it too hard to say. Eyes still half closed, Eris faced her dormmate and let out a tired 'umph' of approval. Time to go to the hospital wing.

The redhead pursed her lips together as she watched Eris drift off. She was worried, but she couldn't do much about it. The swimming had tired each muscle and bone in her body, and she was left to feel drained. She sighed as she plopped down on her butt in the sand of the Great Lake again, curling her legs up to her chest. She rested her forehead on her knees and closed her eyes, letting her mind run wild. In some cases, this was a good thing. In others, it was probably the worst thing Sabrina could allow herself to do. Sometimes, it made her overthink.

 She thought of how her dad would react. He would probably be worried about her wellbeing, but proud of her for saving the girl. Her mother would scold her for risking her own life in the process. She had a particular belief in that her family was above anyone else - and so they should be first priority. Sabrina was against that in a few ways, and that could be her dad's influence. No, it most definitely was. Would her mother even be proud of her? It was never clear to the girl when she was or not. She hoped she would be, though. She would write her letter to her mother tomorrow, possibly. Explain to her what happened.

 She looked up finally once she heard Eris actually make a movement. Her head basically snapped to the side to look in her direction, and she studied the girl's appearance. Sabrina clambered up onto her feet, taking the few steps in Eris's direction so that she could wrap an arm around her torso to support her. As tired as Sabrina was, she figured it would be harder to pick Eris off of the ground than it was to hold her up, even though if she fell, Sabrina would come tumbling after her. 

 With that, she started off back to the school. Slowly, but surely. They would go to the hospital wing, and hopefully afterwards they would be given the OK to go back to the dorm and rest up for the rest of the day.

[ Sabrina & Eris exit the thread. ]