Closed Old Patterns but add Darkness Open

@Opeila Winters

What. A. Summer. Unlike other people, Bloom did not have much to pack and spent most of her time just lounging around and spending time with Howard and both new and old friends. The beginning of the camp was horrid, but it slowly got better as time progressed. Bloom, wearing her swimsuit, was sitting on her bed staring at the ceiling of the tent.

Looking over, she saw one of her tent mates, Opeila, walking out of the tent but she stopped. Was it too bright outside? August was always known to be the hottest summer month and the sun could be blinding. But it wasn't the case. Bloom jumped out of her bed when she saw Opeila look tense and make a strange sound.

"Opeila, are you okay?" she said, running to her barefoot. "Opeila?" she asked again, coming out of the tent to see her face. Her eyes were as white as snow and she looked pained. Bloom had no idea that she was a Seer and did not pretend to know that she knew anything about them. If anything, Bloom thought the girl was having a seizure. "OPEILA!" It was no use as the Slytherin girl was not answering her.

Bloom's heart panicked wondering what to do. She was not trained in CPR. Should she push her down and start CPR? It wasn't until Opeila screamed that Bloom screamed in response. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!" she screamed, breathing heavily at the scare. "Are you okay??" she asked, worried for her tent mate.

Interacting with: @Opeila Winters @Bloom Silverton Mentioning:

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Date: 29th August 2022 Outfit: x

Summer camp coming to a close was bittersweet. Adelaide had thoroughly enjoyed the camp, had met a lot of new people and generally had a lot of fun, but she also felt ready and rejuvenated for another school year. A fresh start. The now second year was more than ready to begin another fun year of learning and perfecting her magic. She should probably be packing now, they only had a couple of days left before they had to head to King's Cross, but Adelaide had instead decided to get up early and go for a nice morning walk when it wasn't too hot. In her opinion, the early morning was probably one of the best times to go on a walk during the summer. Usually it was quiet, most of the students wanting to sleep in like regular teens, and it wasn't that hot either. The early morning breeze made the warmth of the sun's rays easier to handle.

She had been gone for nearly an hour, her wristwatch telling her that it was nearing 10am. She had started her walk around the stadium at 9am, being careful not to wake up any of her tentmates as she slipped out. It was definitely a very relaxing walk, but now she planned to head back to her tent to curl up with Nina and read a book. Well, that was her plan, until she heard someone scream. That was never a good sign. Adelaide ran towards the sound, her eyes settling on two girls outside of one of the tents. One of them (wait, was that Opeila?) was on her knees, her hands pressed against her ears while the other girl was fretting over her.

Adelaide rushed over, her curiosity needing to see what was wrong and why one of them (her guess was on Opeila, given the girl's shaken state) had screamed. "Opeila?" She said tentatively as she got closer, kneeling down beside the Slytherin, "What happened? What's wrong? Are you okay?" She directed most of the questions at the other girl because even though she looked worried for her friend, she was in a much better state than Opeila and would be more able to answer her questions, if she even knew the answer. "I'm Adelaide," she said as an afterthought just so the girl would know her name.

Summer camp, for the most part, was absolutely splendid. For once. Nothing had gone wrong- yet. The theme was fun, the activities presented were wonderful time eaters. Xailah had been spending her most of her summer in blissful solitude; though putting some time aside to meet with friends and engage in the various camp activities. She deserved the time to relax and reflect- to have nothing and no one to worry about. It had been this way for the past few months, and she was the most content she had ever been in such a very long time.

She was lounging, in her usual catlike fashion, catching a few more Z's before she would have to rise in a timely manner. Peeking rays of sunlight had only just coaxed her to stir. Their warmth soon woke her. It was immediately clear that she did not desire the light at the given time; thus reached to close the splayed curtain that was allowing the slivers of sunshine to seep through into the room. Schrödinger must have been rolling in them sometime earlier.

She laid there for a few moments, looking into the quiet darkness of her tent, listening to the soft rumbles coming from the large grey cat curled at her head. The serenity would not last long. A sound would jostle cat and keeper.

A scream rang through the campgrounds. It made Schrödinger puff and jump. Xailah shot up on cue, but she did not make any sudden moves. It had taken her by surprise, but it hadn't done much else. Alarm bells weren't going off. The prefect did not investigate immediately. Instead she laid back down for a moment, listening as if anticipating that there would be another to follow. A second cry did not come. At first she thought the source was from children roughhousing, but then she replayed the sound. No, she thought, correcting herself. That was a wail of distress. Something was wrong. She wouldn't bother to change out of her nightgown, opting to cover up with one of her ethereal robes instead.

Stepping out of her tent, with her cat at her heel, she was met with a confusing sight. A few students were gathered around the small form of another child, who Xailah quickly recognized as her fellow prefect Opeila Winters. The surrounding faces were less known, and frankly she couldn't place their names. The brunette Slytherin was on the ground, bent at her knee, and her hands were clasped around her skull. Around the ear area specifically- the girl was clearly covering her ears. It didn't take a genius to deduce Opeila was out of sorts. Her stance was one of pleading and defeat. Words of concern came from the students gathering around the snakelet. Is she okay? What happened? Xailah had an idea. The moment she saw the girl, she had placed her guess on overstimulation. The cause? That wasn't clear, but judging by the way Opeila held her head, she figured it was most likely from something that was heard. As a person with sensitivities to sound, the head holding gesture was not foreign to her.

Xailah approached the group, bootfalls making little noise. Her presence drifting, yet alien. "Try not to crowd her." Her words came smooth and silvery, along with her eerily calm demeanor. She had always been rather unresponsive during tense moments, making her incredibly hard to read, and the display was only further refined during her time training as an intern in the hospital wing. "She's overstimulated." The lioness served a partial explanation for her instruction to give the snake space. While she was close to the group, she did heed to put a comfortable distance between herself, Opeila, and the others. Too many cooks could only make matters worse for the poor Slytherin.

The young snake's screams had echoed throughout the camp, already drawing more than enough attention. There would be more that would come to investigate the cry. Xailah was counting on it.

Interacting with @Opeila Winters, @Adelaide Barlowe, @Finnegan Conner, @Xailah Alptraum & @Evelynn Decipio

Opeila was on her knees and looked to be in distress. Bloom was by far worried about what to do. She knelt down by the Slytherin and put a hand on her shoulder. This should make her feel okay, right? Bloom thought, wondering if even touching her was okay when someone is having a seizure. She really needed to take CPR and first aid classes.

As she was trying to calm down Opeila, more people began to crowd around Opeila. She even heard a Gryffindor who looked so emo say that people shouldn't be crowding her. Bloom was feeling overwhelmed seeing so many people asking what was wrong and what was happening. And for her to feel overwhelmed made her wonder how Opeila might be feeling. Bloom looked up to the girl who introduced herself as Adelaide. She gave a small smile and just said her name back in return, "Bloom."

"I think she had a seizure," Bloom said out loud, both answering questions that are wondering how Opeila was doing and just saying it out loud for the purpose of narrating the scene before her. "Her eyes turned white though, so I have no idea what illness she has," she added, wondering if it really was a seizure or something more. Oh my Gd, what if it was a stroke?! Bloom now wondered if she should be doing CPR on her. Wait, do I do CPR on her when she is awake?

Bloom looked up at Finnegan and shook her head. She did not need a doctor. Sure, she freaked when Opeila freaked, but she was fine. Opeila on the other hand looked more than distressed. Bloom, still on the floor, waited for Opeila to acknowledge her surroundings. Whatever happened, it was taking a bit for her to hit reality. Maybe it was an intense stroke..., Bloom thought to herself.

Bloom's knees were giving in and she stood back up and saw Evelynn. "Hey, no injuries, I don't think. She just screamed and fell to the floor. Do you think it's a seizure? Stroke? Should I do CPR? Should someone get a professor?" Bloom was perhaps not the best person to be in this situation as she often second guessed what to do and she was always fearful of the unknown. She had no idea what was to be expected for Opeila-- her tent mate and Hexwizard Tournament teammate.

Interacting with: everyone technically; open to interaction
Mentions: the whole group indirectly

29.08.2022, ~ 09:47
Hogwarts Summer Camp, London

❀

Glenys had felt a bit stifled in the tent – not stifled by her tentmates, but more that it seemed to her that she had spent too much time in it and was in dire need for some fresh air outside. Maybe she would even find some inspiration to paint again? So she had dressed accordingly, not in a dress but in green knee-length cargo pants that had sunflowers painted onto the left leg. For Pebble's sake she was in a (boring) black short-sleeved hoodie instead of a t-shirt, and Pebble was dozing in its front pouch. Orange sneakers and a slate messenger back completed the ensemble. As she wasn't simply going to paint outside like she had before, she had put her painting supplies into the bag instead of just carrying them.

She wove her way through the tents and enjoyed letting the customary hustle and bustle of the camp pass her by. She didn't stop to speak with anyone aside from a brief hello, if someone greeted her. Not that many did. While she had a better grasp of the people at camp than she had at the beginning, she still only knew a fraction and many of those only in passing. Summer camp was almost over and she hoped she would be better acquainted with people by the time the next one rolled around. But after being around her year and housemates for a year, plus regularly seeing the Hogwarts student body around the dining hall at least, she had no doubt that she would.

As she continued to weave her way between the tents, she contemplated what she had unpacked for camp and would therefore have to pack again the next few days. She had mostly just unpacked what she had immediately needed, like clothes, so at least it should be quick.

Glenys did not expect a terrifying scream to pierce the air.

Its suddenness made her jump in fright. What in the world?? What was that? Wide-eyed (and probably slightly wild-eyed) she looked around trying to find the danger. The immediate answering panicked yell of what-the-hell, while still startling her badly, sounded far less terrifying. It also gave her a direction. Pebble was still as a statue and did not seem to even breathe, but Glenys was too focused on the scream to do more than absently notice the change.

A few metres away, there was a small crowd forming around one girl on her knees, who seemed to be hiding her face. Was she the one that screamed? The other surrounding her certainly seemed concerned enough about her to lead Glen to that conclusion. She didn't mean to stare and gape, but for a moment she was just frozen. Her heart was racing and her breathing quick from the scare and she had to fight to force herself to calm down a little. A few deep breaths later, she was still feeling a bit panicky, but she had unfrozen enough to hesitatingly make her way over.

Since she had already stopped and stared like an idiot, the least she could do was check if there was any way she could help? “What happened?, she would ask, “Is there anything--”, before clicking her mouth shut in shock, her second question hanging only half-finished in the air. Wait, possession??? Was that an actual thing? Possession? She paled. She hadn't known that? There was no way she could help with that!

@Glenys Urquhart @Reena Delgado @Bloom Silverton @Xailah Alptraum @Finnegan Conner @Evelynn Decipio @Adelaide Barlowe

As Opeila screamed, she was answered with the scream by another, making her heart skip a beat and her ears hurt. It was enough to make the young Slytherin snap out of the vision, but for a moment she was disoriented. Where a second ago had been darkness, spiders, roots and crumbling stone walls were now bright sunlight and green grass. And people surrounding her, several people.

Someone was kneeling beside her, talking to her. The girl's voice sounded muffled though Opeila's hands that were still pressed on her ears. Adelaide? Adelaide, Adelaide... If Opeila had met her before, it had to have been a while ago, for the moment the name wouldn't ring a bell. Another voice got through to her, asking the others to give her space. Another name, Bloom. Bloom? Yes, there was a very vague memory.

Bloom sounded panicked. Was it Opeila's fault? It had to be, didn't it? She was worrying people, still on her knees, bent over, with her hands on her ears. Slowly she let go of her ears and instead buried her fingers into the ground.
Another voice, a more familiar one Opeila immediately recognized- Evelynn Decipio. And another panicked sounding voice, belonging to a younger child by the sounds of it.

Opeila had to say something, calm the crowd around her. Slowly she sat up more straight and took a deep breath. "I-I'm f-" The Slytherin swallowed, trying to calm her trembling voice. "F-fine. I-I'm fine." She felt awkward, as always when others witnessed her visions. It was a complete loss of control every time, which was pretty much against everything Opeila took care of in public. She made sure never to lose control.

And the images of her vision were still flying back and forth inside her head, invisible to everyone but her- almost.
Maybe it was because her emotions were heightened that one of those images was picked up by a wandcore that was particularly sensitive to them. And so it came that Evelynn too would suddenly have an image of masses of crawling black spiders in her head.