Finished Don't Chase the Keeper PV Nichlas Forsberg

Hex: #465c67 | English | Russian | Swedish

Nichlas had decided it was time to return to his cabin for the day as there was not much that kept him engaged in interactions with the other schools and he had already been to breakfast. He briefly wondered if he should pay Maksim a visit just so that the news might reach Slava’s ears and set him on edge just a fraction more. It would serve him well for the audacity of making an enemy out of Nichlas before the Swede even had the chance to figure him out properly, of being conflicting with his reputation, something people usually could easily rely on. But apparently not so with Slava, there seemed to be something off about the younger boy. It did to a certain extent make him curious, yesterday’s encounter. The day he had been recruited to join the Quidditch match at last moment. It had been a bad move to draw attention to him like that but he felt it silly, for now, to drag his brother into the mess. Especially since there was not much that he could have known about the same aged boy. He remembered their duel together and how he too had been rather brash in his language. He also remembered the drama that involved his sister, though he was quite sure he had stopped Maksim from trying anything that could direct Nichlas’ wrath towards him. He would therefore let this rest for now, knowing full well that after the Quidditch game, if anything were to happen, it was likely going to be over a month from now and not before the start of the school year, that he would hear from either of the brothers again. For now dragging Maksim into this felt like too much of an effort with lacking results. There was no fun in scaring off Slava yet, nor to alert Maksim to this sudden interest in starting a little experiment with his brother, in order to find out what exactly was behind the sunshine image he seemed so desperate to project. So he wouldn’t address Maksim before they even started this whatever it was that it would be of theirs. He would think on this some more and with time there would be a decision to make, about quite what game he was willing to play with Slava. Little did he know that this decision would be taken out of his hands and all thoughts of involving Maksim in that way would vanish with it. He soon would receive the invitation to their first dance and what a dance it would be.

So for now he would settle on getting to his cabin, where he could possibly study up on Quidditch or read something or while he was at it, he might as well scheme or start cleaning up his stuff. After all they would very soon leave this dreaded camp that he now attended out of habit and need to gather information as well as as to not stay out of the loop. Information, after all, was power and there was to be little that escaped his attention. Or so he thought.

Just as he was to open the door of his cabin, a body ran into his, out from his cabin. A cabin that he had left locked, via magic and therefore whatever this girl had done inside of there must have been bad news. “And who do we have here?” he asked coldly as he almost lazily got out his wand and trailed it on her. “Answering quick would be in your best interest.” Even if she did not know him, it must have been quite clear from the very beginning and just based on a first impression, that this was no empty threat. This was a voice that offered no forgiveness and little mercy as he took some more steps forward, practically caging her and forcing her to retreat backwards into the cabin as he followed suit.

“What we’re you doing in here? And spare me the excuses,” he commanded her to speak, wand more than ready to use the aid of magic if she was less inclined to spill the tea without the extra motivation. Meanwhile his mind raced for reasons as to why this insignificant girl was in his cabin. The room too seemed off, just slightly. But he would have to pay attention to that after he had received answers, not wanting to risk her bolting out off the door if he took his attention away from here. Of course if she did run there was always the question on how far she would get before Nichlas managed to catch up to her. His spells were ruthless and it didn’t need to be said that he was quite a bit taller than her which meant it couldn’t be that difficult to catch up to her, even without magic. Nichlas stared at her cooly as he waited patiently, and yet there seemed to be something about him, urging her to hurry.

@Alan Vanes

Although she had thought about it, Opeila had not expected to get caught. She had not even felt scared or anything- it was not like she had done anything wrong anyway.

But it was fear, pure, ice cold fear, that seemed to sink into her stomach when she slammed into someone. Her insides seemed to turn to ice when she looked up. Oh, she knew this face. And she should have known, oh she should have known when she went to assist Theo in stealing from a stranger...

It was her own mind that had conjured up this face before. One of her more peaceful visions for sure, it had felt like she had fallen asleep for a few seconds and dreamt a dream of someone- this young man- raising a wand. The same wand she now found pointing at her.

Control slipped away for only a split second when Opeila first looked up at his face. A sound like a gasp escaped her that she immediately tried to hide behind a cough.
"Opeila Winters from Hogwarts.", she quickly answered his question, raising her empty hands lightly to show she wasn't armed.

Except... maybe she should arm herself. For a moment her gaze flickered to the side, trying to assess if she would be able to outrun him, while he forced her to retreat back into the cabin. Only that he would not believe her a thing if he caught her again. Calm. "I am sorry, I came in here because my cat entered through a cracked window. I shouldn't have, I know.", she would explain, trying to smile just a bit apologetically. Somehow the man made her feel like as much as an unexpected movement of her face would have her hit by a spell.

Again Opeila would look behind him, her right hand already closing around the wand she had stored in her sleeve. Being trapped in the cabin with this young man expressing threats with every word and move made her hair stand on edge with danger. Maybe she would need to reconsider the idea of fighting herself out.

Hex: #465c67 | English | Russian | Swedish

Having effectively trapped the girl within the cabin, he closed it behind himself and regarded the girl with a calculating gaze, ready to learn what exactly it was that she was doing here. He probably should be feeling upset at the break in and possibly calmed at the excuses she might be giving him. But he mostly felt like he wanted to learn about what had happened and then possibly let her go with the lesson to never repeat this mistake. To foolishly mess with him. He wasn't happy to have learned this but he also did not care too much about the lies she might spout. She gave him a name, which was a good enough start, he presumed. And a school to sort her in, which was even better. It was information and unless she was a good liar and had managed to fool him, then he was quite sure that he could find her again. He would ensure to memorize this information for future use. He didn't return the favor of giving her his name, chances were he already knew it and that was part of the reason why he was in here. Hogwarts. Was she sent by the team they were supposed to play against in a few hours from now? Nichlas was not quite ready to jump to that conclusion yet, but he would mark it as a possibility until he learned more and he knew he would.

She tried with a lie, which was quite foolish. Her eyes darting around nervously, betrayed her attempt to sound honest as his eyes narrowed. He didn't need to look around to know that all the windows had been closed and he wouldn't give her an excuse to fumble for a better explanation as he cast the first spell that came to mind, when he was sure she was scanning the area for the best possible exit strategy. He couldn't have that, after all she did owe him a few answers. "Fulgari," and just like that bands of glowing energy would wrap around her arms, constricting movement and attempts to reach for a wand from now on, until she managed to break loose of course. But with each passing moment the bands would tighten, quite painfully so and prove of how Nichlas wasn't quite known for his patience. "I'd suggest you try telling the truth now, I have other spells I would love to get some practice on," he told her with a casual tone as he began to look around his space to see what had been messed with. He would split his attention between the investigation and the girl. But he would quickly find his way to his night stand and the broom leaning next to it, its position slightly askew, even though it seemed there was an attempt made to make it look natural. Nichlas gave a slight hum as he picked the broom, his gaze wandering to the handle that was lacking the second ribbon he had tied around it last year. He gave a hum as he turned to Opeila with narrowed eyes. "You stole from me?" he hissed as he tossed the broom onto his bed as he approached the girl.

"How dare you?" he spoke in his native tongue as he regarded her cooly. The guts of someone to come into his place and steal from him. Nichlas was acting akin to a dragon who's horde had been messed with and it wasn't the thought of what had been stolen that upset him so much but the fact that someone had dared to in the first place. He didn't necessarily care about the ribbon itself, it was a trinket he had acquired. Due to the object that was missing, it wasn't hard to figure out who must have been collaborating with her on this. But he didn't want to make it too easy for her, still expecting her to fumble for excuses or take the blame to spare Theodore who must have put her up to this. "I will release you from the bindings if you tell me the truth of who has put you up to this, clearly you have no business stealing from me unless you are the jealous kind?" A promise like that seemed dangerous and who was Opeila to know whether or not Nichlas was one to follow up on his word? But the alternative was to remain bound unless she would manage to break the bindings and even so, Nichlas could just cast another spell to hinder her escape. He wanted answers that right now only Opeila would be able to give. Anything else was speculation on his part and while he was sure he had made the correct assumptions it wouldn't hurt to have this confirmed by someone who would know for sure. Nichlas therefore acted patient as he waited for her to find her voice and just tell him what he needed to know so that the both of them could finally go separate ways again.

@Alan Vanes

Opeila's heart sank when the older boy pulled the door shut. Trapped. Now she was trapped for real. His absolute calmness was almost more unsettling than anger would have been. The young Slytherin would have felt more comfortable facing open anger. Yelling even maybe. She almost hoped that he would start yelling, now that the door was closed, that he would break this... almost dangerous feeling she had since she ran into him.

She had underestimated him. Opeila had been certain that she would have a few moments at least that she could work with, try to convince him of the story she had started to spin and then make her escape in the right moment. But she wouldn't even get past step one of this plan.
So prepared. She barely had a chance to subtly scan the room for an exit when she was hit by a spell.

Strings of light wrapped around her, pressed her arms against her sides. No casting spells. No escape. A scream of frustration escaped her as she unsuccessfully struggled against the binds, followed by a barely audible whimper when the binds tightened. Maybe someone would hear her. Her chest seemed to tighten as well when fear made her turn pale. Would he kill her? Would these binds end up cutting off her breathing?

Opeila kept the fear out of her face as much as she could, but her reaction was panic. "Let me go right now. If you hurt me, I swear I will make you regret it!" She didn't even try to lower her voice. Automatically her gaze turned to a window. Maybe someone would hear her.
Only that he seemed rather unimpressed. He searched the room for anything changed- and found it. More and more she hated herself for this idiocy, covering up for this Ilvermorny she barely knew. She should have said nothing, she should have stayed out of it altogether.

Now here she was, taking the full blow for Theodore. Idiot. "I didn't! No, no, I didn't steal from you, I promise-" Opeila almost stumbled over her own words. She was not keen on having spells cast at her while bound and she was sure that one wrong word would bring him to do just that. "I saw someone here earlier, a..." Oh, she couldn't backstab him, at least she could mislead him a bit. "... a girl, she was near here. I don't know her name, she is from a different school, maybe she knows more. I only came here for my cat!" The binds were pressing into her skin and once more she tried to break out of them.

"I'm not running, okay, can you please take these off? You're hurting me.", she asked with little hope. Likely this was the whole point.

Hex: #465c67 | English | Russian | Swedish

Nichlas raised an eyebrow at the girl as he stepped closer, almost circeling around her, like a predator waiting for the moment to lunge as he kept track of her every moment. Not even the twitch of her eyes flitting to the door of the cabin could escape his scrutinizing gaze. She was wholly and utterly trapped in a position she only got herself to blame for. Nichlas had been kind, he had been patient in letting her explain the situation and rather than taking him up on that offer she had spit at his feet, figuratively of course. He had doubt he would have dared to follow through with anything physical.

"You? Make me regret something?" he exclaimed haughtily, a cruel laugh almost ready to spill over his lips as he regarded her with little respect for her request, for her attempted demand. "You are trapped in your own little web of lies, I am merely helping you not do something you would regret, little girl. It is you who holds the key to your freedom... all you need to do is to tell me who has put you up to this," he explained the situation with a sharp smile and perhaps the likeness to a shark would be uncanny in this moment. He allowed her to speak, allowed her to explain herself as the binds pulled tighter almost automatically with every further sentence that spilled from her lip. He was almsot ready to go easier on her when he heard the desperation in her voice, the underlying pain that laced the intonations. "Of course you didn't take it, you seem to hardly have the brains to come up with a believable excuse, the windows were closed and the door locked," Nichlas sneered as he regarded her with little pity. It seemed like this stubborn girl needed a little more encouragement and Nichlas knew just how to inspire it. He raised his wand at her once more and smiled.

"Now... Answer my questions, otherwise I would love this opportunity of duelling practice. I get so little of that lately."

Despite her clear lack in the wit department, he hoped she at least would recognize this for the threat it was, rather than hope it to be an empty promise. After all the Swede's patience was wearing thin and he would simply like to get this over with and settle his mind on more pleasant matters. Though he felt this kick of excitement in his daily schedule did help clear his mind for other things so perhaps he should thank her for stumbling into his cabin and making a fool of herself...

@Alan Vanes

Only a few seconds of struggling were enough for Opeila to realize there was no breaking free. Not before the young man, who was watching her so closely now, allowed her to. And yet her whole body tensed up when he walked around her, ready to run if she only could. Opeila was used to being under attack. Utilizing the adrenaline of it was one of the things duelling taught her that she was utterly grateful for. But that was when she had her wand in her hand and her opponents in sight. And of course... all of them bound by the rules of the game.

Something told her the rules would be different here and they were all his to decide. Opeila's gaze would follow him as she could manage when he circled her, hating to let him out of her sight when she was in such a vulnerable position.
Her somewhat hollow threat would be treated as exactly what it was, making the young Slytherin grit her teeth. Alright, maybe it was best to cooperate. Just a little. "No one put me up to anything. I'm here on my own accord, alright? I promise." And it wasn't a lie. Had it not been her who told Theo to run? Who decided to cover? Maybe she could play around with the truth a bit and omit the parts that would jeopardize Theo.

The insult would not affect her. A few years ago it would have likely set her off, made her try to insult him back, to humiliate him somehow, but Opeila had grown to be more secure than that. "Sure, if you say so.", would be the only comment he would get. Once again Opeila looked to the window. "I closed the window after my cat jumped out so he wouldn't get back in." She raised her chin a bit. "Maybe you should be more careful."

It was the wand pointing at her once again that made her hold her breath and shut down the cockiness again for just a moment. Not taking her eyes off of the wand, Opeila would answer, forcing herself to remain calm. "Really? You would bind a younger girl in your cabin and then cast spells at her? How brave." Nothing but the breathless tone of her voice would show the fear she felt at the threat. Finally she would meet his gaze. For now she was calling his bluff but if he was being serious... At this point Opeila felt like it wouldn't take much to break her resistance. If he was serious, she would have to warn Theo the moment she was free again.

Hex: #465c67 | English | Russian | Swedish

Nichlas halted at the admittance of guilt, his feet coming to a stop from their pacing right in front of the girl, a dangerous smile plastered his face as he took a step towards the - what else to call her but - frightened girl. "Oh so you have figured it was wise to do because why exactly?" he asked almost sweetly as he regarded her with a narrow eyed expression. He felt he had almost all the puzzle pieces together, but he wasn't exactly sure of how some of them fit together. But then she decided to prove a lack of brain cells all over again, with prepostorous claims and terribly lies. "Barn, I have trouble believing how little your safety is worth to you with how you keep lying through your teeth," he hissed.

He found her insistence to take him a fool as both an insult to himself as well as an apt indicator of the intelligence the girl posessed or the lack of it, as that seemed a more fitting descriptor from what he could tell. It was almost amusing really, how insistent she was on telling the truth while nervously scrambling for excuses that might soothe his temper, as she dug the hole deeper and deeper until sunlight was but a distant memory. He was done with giving her lee way, an escape into dishonesty. He wasn't even truly caring about the truth anymore and most of all...

"I am unsure what of my behavior gave you the impression that acting brave or honorable is any goal of mine, but I doubt you angering me further is in any way beneficial to your current situation," he contered with a short abrasive laugh to underline his words. Whatever had given her that idea fit right in with her less than apt attempts of convincing him to let her go unscathed. She was grasping for straws by now in a quite pitiful display. Whatever had made her think he cared for things like bravery or honor? "Are you saying I should have given you a different treatment because you are a girl? You are the one who is comitting a crime by breaking and entering, I am well within my right to stop your escape," he offered with a raised eyebrow. It was starting to give him a headache to even talk to this girl. Her panic ridden arguments were senseless and gave him little challenge. This was a one sided game and he was growing tired of her presence. He was done playing or allowing her a chance to talk her way out of this.

"Let me tell you what I think happened," he offered, almost in casual politeness, if it weren't for the situation. A quite eerie switch in tone as he resumed his pacing, making sure to stay in his sight as he twirled his wand around his hand and kept ger gaze on her. "You are covering for that boy, Theodor. He has this nasty habit of going after girls way out of his league, but let's not waste my breath on talking about him..." he disliked the boy for his silly assumption he was in any way a match against him. Did he truly believe he could take something from Nichlas without him realizing it? "I believe you on your claim that you are here on your own volition, which may I warn you, big mistake. But that must mean he did a terribly job, unsurprisingly, which you of course had to rectify. Are you following? You seem to value honor, which perhaps has led you to offer your help as he makes his escape and you have no idea what you have gotten yourself into," he concluded and then gave a tilt of his head. He seemed smug and quite confidence. He was either right or didn't care about being wrong. He had made up his mind about her and her silly attempts to convince him of her innocence.

"Which begs the question, what is your relationship to Theodor?"

With that dramatic pause, he stopped his pacing once more and looked the girl into her eyes. SHe thought she was so smart, but she was little more than a frightened deer. He was however curious to hear how she fit into the story. One he had that knowledge he was very happy to let her run off and move on to matters that had any ounce of significance to him, rather than wasting more time on the inept thief and this dull thief. After this interaction he was just craving for something more, a challenge perhaps that would perhaps be of significance. He was growing bored and of course... confrontational.

@Alan Vanes

Opeila had lost. This game she had lost and she knew it, as the blonde looked through them like glass. The denying had no effect and she was growing really uncomfortable in these binds that seemed to cut into her skin with every passing minute. So maybe it was time for a bit of truth... and maybe even some questions of her own. She had no idea what happened between this boy and Theodore but she was more and more curious. She only had to tread carefully. "On a whim really. Seeing... my cat coming in here, I felt like I should see what was up." Opeila was balancing on a thin line now. He had probably already guessed who had been here to steal, but she wouldn't be the one to confirm it unless she had to. The cat would move from being a weak alibi to being a placeholder that she prayed would not set him off.

She forced herself not to back down at his threat, when she was still not hit by another spell. Gritting her teeth, she would shift her weight, trying to find a position less painful, before she answered, her heart beating against her chest so loudly, she was sure he could hear it. "You must be in your last year of school. Or the year before that. I don't think you want to compromise my safety and make all these years of schooling be a waste." Maybe he did. Maybe she was overestimating him. But for now, she was calling a bluff. His threat to use her for duelling practice had obviously been one too.
"What is it you want from me?", she would finally ask, "Obviously you have already painted your picture of what happened. You will go after that guy no matter what I say now, won't you." No, that was indeed no question.

"No, I'm implying that I... overestimated you." Again she shifted, her hands clenching into fists as she braced herself for impact. It seemed easier to be bold the more she said, but this... had been personal. The Slytherin was unable to keep eye contact as horror took hold of her for a moment, tied her tongue, closed up her airway. Speak first, regret later. But had she gone to far yet? Her nails dug into her sweaty palms. Maybe she would have a lot to regret after this was over. But he had not hurt her apart from that spell that held her in place, so maybe he was all talk after all?
It was his next words that broke her free from her rigidity.
"'Within your right'? Really? You think any professor would approve of this if they walked in on us? I think this goes already quite far." She would look down at the binds before eyeing him. He could not really believe that.

When he listed what he believed what happened, Opeila was not surprised. This had never been a question of what happened. She wasn't really sure why he trapped her here still, but it wasn't to find out what had occurred. But what caught her attention was the blonde's mention of a girl out of Theo's league. The Slytherin would cock her head slightly. "... You went after the same girl but he had more success, didn't he? Why else would you bother to even mention it." It was all Opeila could do to stop herself from breaking into an almost hysterical chuckle that would probably have done her no good and that she realized she could probably not have stopped again. All the tension and fear of the past minutes was building up into something she fought desperately to keep inside, while she processed the new information. Really? All this dangerous acting, stealing out of sheer pettiness? She had overestimated him by far.

"If Theodore stole this ribbon, he achieved what he wanted. And since you seem to be so sure, that he was here, you would know that he knows that I am here. Which is precisely why you won't harm me any more, is it?" As the fear was slowly fading, his confidence began to get on her nerves slightly. "Okay, answer for an answer. Why are you going after Theodore?" Again she held her breath, forcing herself not to look at his wand. This time she was the one who felt like she already knew the answer.

Hex: #465c67 | English | Russian | Swedish

"On a whim really. Seeing... my cat coming in here, I felt like I should see what was up." Nichlas stared at the child, the kid that kept using the same excuse, one he had long seen through and yet she decided it was still valid enough. Was she listening to herself? Was she truly this dumb? He should not be surprised really, after all he had seen the kind of staff that the school exmployed, how could they possibly teach their students anything worthwhile? "I actually pity you," he let her know, the accent in his voice thick, though there was no pity present in his voice "You have become more annoying than Theodore's petty theft and for that, I pity you.". He explained, as if recalling something factual.

The ridiculousness of her next statement just proved to him even more that she was grasping at straws in order to make a single dent, however nothing she could say would hit home or even make sense of her predicament. "Are the binds this tight already as that the lack of oxygen is obstructing your thinking or is this the conclusion you would naturally draw?" His head tilted with a pretend pleasant smile, this was casual conversation or at least he would make it seem like that with ease. "If you think any of this situation could get me into trouble, for protecting myself from a breaking and entering, then you must be delusional, I would likely get a pat on the back from my professors for handling the situation with utmost precision and skill," he gave way for a laugh, mocking her as he looked down at her.

"'Within your right'? Really? You think any professor would approve of this if they walked in on us? I think this goes already quite far." Another small laugh at her attempt to once more intimidate him. "If you believe this to be too far, then you truly lack imagination, I let you off quite easily," he corrected her kindly. Completely disregarding her bargain that made little sense to him, he gave her the telltale smile of a shark. "Why you seem so concerned with this situation; I feel you are missing the humor of this all. This is on you. I am the victim here," he pointed out, pretending to feeling quite attacked by her assumptions.

"Now where were we? You were acting like the victim, right? Well in that case, cheer up a little!" and with a flick of his wand a spell was cast, as he uttered the Tickling Charm's incantation. A handy spell and quite cruel in its own ways. He has heard people refer to it as a torturous spell before, as the painful and forced laughter was a sensation that would prove quite... uncomfortable. Serves her right, as her lack of intelligence made him quite uncomfortable too. "Now laugh it off and run along little girl, you have quite outstayed your welcome here," he allowed and gestured towards the door as the spell took effect.

He was done with her.