Spooky Scary Skeletons pv Renelle

‘Twas the night before Halloween, and all throughout the castle, silence stretched like a blanket of doom. The night of All Hallows’ Eve crept closer and closer, threatening to catch any stray victims in its jaws, and bringeth them forth to his lair! The dark, dark castle was still and hushed, its residents desperate to pass through the night unharmed!

That is, except for two particular very brave girls, their minds only filled with thoughts of glee as to their plans for the evening, which would no doubt be chaotic and dangerous, and give their unlucky victim a nasty surprise the next day! After all, they were the infamous ‘Terrible Two’, whose mere mention brought a shudder to whomever it was.

One of these delightful girls, a brunette one dressed all in black, smirked in the dark, matching the one of her companion, dressed similarly, with vibrant red hair instead! It wasn’t very suitable for being secretive, but the brunette one knew she wouldn’t trade her partner-in-crime for the world!

A grey shape slinked its way ahead, it’s grace and quietness unmatched, even by its human owners. As she watched the beast, a cat in fact, the darker-haired girl frowned to herself. She wasn’t sure how she felt about entrusting someone- or some-animal- she had just met to be cooperative on such an important mission, and if it were up to her, she would have left the furry little creature behind!

But her red-headed companion was the only one in the world she had a soft spot for, which was why she had agreed to take the cat along in the first place, provided he made himself useful as a lookout. She watched him creep along, all ninja-like, wishing he would suddenly mewl loudly or knock into a suit of armour, if only to prove herself right.

By the time the strange group reached their destination- a very special classroom on the third floor- none of the above happened. Straightening up, feelings a mixture of relief and disappointment, Renelle (for that was the brunette girl’s name), looked around at their surroundings.

To any disinterested onlooker, it would have just seemed like a normal room, with its desks and chair, along with the blackboard at the very front, but the Terrible Two knew better. This was none other than the teaching place of the infamous professor Zoë Fresnel, who taught the lovely area of magic known as Charms!

Taking care not to make a sound, Renelle reached into the black-coloured bag her accomplice, otherwise known as Astra, had just set down. She rummaged through the contents for a few seconds, then finally drew out what she had been looking for- a clear pouch, of which contained an array of various makeup products, from lipstick and blush, to eyeshadow and eyeliner!

Smiling with dark delight, Renelle unzipped the bag, and drew out a tube of lipstick. The unscrewing of the cap revealed the shade to be a midnight black, perfect for this mission. She turned to the redhead, the demented grin still on her face, and held up the lipstick. “Are you ready for it, my friend?”

Potentially facing detention with @Astra Norrick

Reducio

OOC note: Renelle and Astra's writers have standing permission to godmod each other

IC Date: October 30, 2023
Time: Nighttime
Interacting with Mademoiselle @Renelle Dalton
Mentioning the lovely Prof @Zoë Fresnel
Astra speaking: #136323
Thoughts: Italics
Others: Bold

"Always ready for Frankenskellies," Astra responded, holding up green face paint.

At first, she had strongly disagreed to the prank. It was going to be done to her favorite professor, and Astra wasn't quite sure she wanted to do that. But after much testing on various other wooden objects, she was assured that both face paint and makeup would come off with a simple scrub, or a cleaning spell. Though, she and Renelle didn't know any cleaning spells.

This prank was going to be a special one. It was almost mandatory for two established tricksters such as themselves to do a prank on/for Halloween, but it was also their first big prank after the disaster known as the "Fall Ball." Miscommunication had happened, words had been said, Astra had gotten a drink spilled on her and nearly gotten a spell cast on her, and had been trying to figure out why Renelle had disliked her "date," Mahlioz, during the whole fiasco. Not to mention the argument at the lake.

Both were forced to realize it was not the other's fault the ball was going sideways. They each had a hand in it. And now, though sometimes issues arose, they were on the road to recovery.

Enough about the past. Now, Astra took a brush and lightly painted green over a wooden skeleton beside the also hard-working Renelle while Hermes kept a silent look out, ears alert and tail twitching. "This may be testing our luck," she whispered, "but what if we stayed out till the Witching Hour?" Astra was curious to see what Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would be like during this hour on the night before Halloween. Hopefully something grand and brilliant and magical.

Renelle smirked at the green face paint Astra held up, her friend’s expression a mirror of her own. Oh, this was going to be such a lovely surprise for the Charms professor when she came in next day- no doubt she would delighted by the loveliness of her skeletons, make-up coating their faces and bodies a shade of the most beautiful vomit green. She sighed in fake jealousy. Oh, how she envied her!

The first year really did like Professor Zoë Fresnel a lot, despite the pranks that were now taking place in her classroom, at Renelle’s own insistence. In fact, one might argue it was because of this fondness for the professor, that the two girls were going to all this trouble, to prepare a Halloween present for her!

One of the factors neither of these delightful girls had thought of, however, was the simple matter of light. One might be surprised, but it was more difficult than could be expected to doll up a skeleton in the dark; Astra’s job was easy, just cover the little people in paint- alas, Renelle’s job took a lot more effort, and required a lot more detail!

Growling in frustration, the Ravenclaw briefly glanced over to her red-headed companion’s side- she seemed to be doing just fine. “Okay, question.” she whispered quickly, voice slightly harsh. “Did you ever learn some kind of lighting spell? It’s impossible to see over here, and make-up’s hard enough without groping in the dark.”

Why was Renelle not attempting some sort of similar spell herself? Well, for one, she wasn’t the best at academic-related stuff; ironic, considering she had literally been sorted into the house of the wise, or whatever the full description was. And it was not just on one occasion that she had been impressed by Astra’s impressive knowledge of spells, especially in the subject of Charms- squirrel freezing and pranks in the most deadly area of the entire castle came to mind.

Ugh, screw it. She was just going to do her best, and if the Ned effect was disastrous… well, it was Halloween, after all. Trying to figure out where the damn skeletons were, she blindly grabbed something in her hand, the outline of which resembled a little stick and bone person. Hoping she wouldn’t draw on Astra by mistake, she held the lipstick closer, and starting applying it to where she hoped was somewhere on the skeleton’s face.

As the time ticked by, Renelle confused on to other various make-up products, as well as other skeletons- all of them got their turn, none left out. She was inclusive that way. While the work was fun, though, she couldn’t help but feel herself getting more and more tired and anxious- how late was it getting? Would the owner of this classroom suddenly pop out of nowhere and turn her and Astra into squirrels for defiling her precious office? And why was the cat so awfully quiet? That was good, but getting a bit creepy.

This was why when Astra offered up a way to make this trip more interesting, the dark-haired girl certainly didn’t argue. Abruptly stopping the makeover of Little Skeleton No. 21, Renelle turned excitedly to her friend, lowering her customer back to its shelf. “Oh definitely!” In her initial excitement, she had perhaps spoken a lot bit louder than she ought to have, causing her to flinch slightly, and wince. “Er, sorry.” Then continued in much softer tone, perking up once more. “But yeah, seems like an amazing idea! We could, like, explore the castle and all its secrets!”

Practically bursting with excitement, she bent down, and starting shoving the makeup supplies back into the black bag. “I’m basically done on my side anyway, if you’ve finished too, we could sneak off to the dungeons or something! I’ve heard the Forbidden Forrest is especially cozy this time of night.” Unless we get eaten by wild beasts… Hmm, maybe not the Forrest then. This was certainly going to be a lot of fun though.

Interacting with @Astra Norrick

IC Date: October 30, 2023
Time: Nighttime
Interacting with Mademoiselle @Renelle Dalton
Astra speaking: #136323
Thoughts: Italics
Others: Bold

Astra swiftly detailed her Skelly with a few stitches to complete the zombie look, then dipped a new brush in orange paint for the next one. No color left behind, you know.

On the subject of light, Astra was woefully ill-prepared. "Bollocks. I should've thought to learn Lumos before this," she muttered. Though Renelle's job was a bit more detailed than Astra's, the redhead trusted her companion would see through and do well despite the lack of lighting.

Well, without any light to disrupt, the girls could have a little night vision! Younger Astra liked staying out late and being able to see in the dark just a little, just the tiniest bit, when her eyes got used to the low light. It was great fun for the girl back then, and proved a great piece of knowledge now.

The brush gently layered the face paint over the skeleton, causing the hue to shift slightly, though the difference was almost indistinguishable. Red and yellow jester was the next, then another zombie skeleton joined the ranks. Astra cycled through these colors, adding a few vampire-esque designs and several were-skeletons whenever she felt like it.

Hermes laid down, tucking his hind paws underneath himself but leaving the front ones free. He was being such a good little lookout. Uncanny, how quickly he had picked it up.

An enthusiastic response to the prospect of further trouble exploration was the expected and desired response. Astra added the finishing touches to her last little harlequin as Renelle packed up her paints, suggesting the Forbidden Forest as their next haunt.

[color=#13632$]"Let's go verify those claims, shall we?"[/color] Astra stuck the brushes back into their plastic bag, closing up the paints and sticking everything into it's carrier. "Stash the supplies and then we'll be off on our adventure!" The redhead grinned almost maniacally. Pulling an all-nighter was an enticing prospect for the eleven year old (though in later years they would become commonplace).

"All done," she whispered to Hermes. It was his release phrase, and the cat immediately stretched out from his tail to his front paws, a soft mewling yawn exiting his maw. He leapt gracefully to the floor and looked up at the girls with wide eyes, as if to say What now?

Astra carried her bag out, saying "We'll meet on the grounds, then?" before heading down to the Slytherin dorms as quickly and quietly as possible.

The eve of Halloween was to be perfect. The Witching Hour, spent in arguably the spookiest place in Hogwarts. Nothing could beat that.

Astra has left the thread