Seeking Light in Dark Places
.–⭒′˙°ˑ⋅⤜∽●∼⤛⋅ˑ°˙‵⭒–.
⋖ 22/Mar/2024 @ after supper | ENGLISH [#715380] | FRENCH [#b654a9] ⋗
INTERACTIONS @Opeila Winters | MENTIONING @Pericles Dralt
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───•─•────────────────────────────────────•─•───Over a month had passed since that night by the lake. Somehow. It had felt like little more than the blink of an eye. The days immediately following had been better, if only a little. Sound sleep finally found Evelynn, injecting her with a boost of energy that had slightly dampened her self-loathing and granted her the motivation she had needed to start on a number of neglected assignments. It didn't last, however. Hours began rolling into days that melted into weeks, time and events never quite seeming to make themselves distinct enough to make a memorable impression. Nightmares began again, insomnia resuming. Patient grew thinner than even before, and the self-loathing returned, compounded further by the memory of her weakness perseverating in her mind during every waking moment.
Within its relentless grip, she had forgotten small details that had been innocuously spoken. Although she had raised concern, questioning it at the time of its airing, mention of an absolute dance disaster from autumn past had been quickly cast aside as inconsequential. Nothing more than the norm than all senior students had come to accept as commonplace, as had been so flippantly suggested. In the face of freshly incited grief and the moment of weakness that had accompanied it, that small part of the greater encounter had been buried, her rational mind unable to pursue its significance beneath the burden of her emotional weight.
It wasn't until the posters had begun to appear around the castle that she was reminded of what Dralt had said. An absolute disaster, like the rest of them. The thought returned to her again as yet another post called for her attention. Brows knitted together as she stared at the masquerade mask graphic displayed so prominently upon the advertisement. Within its silver sheen, she saw a matching pair of eyes peering back at her, the words sounding all the more clearly in the voice of their owner. Most, she imagined, would have taken the ambivalence as a comfort. If it wasn't significant enough to elaborate upon, it wasn't anything to worry about. A hyperbole at worst. But she knew better. His goal had been singularly focused that night, and she knew enough about the rest of the dances to know that anything comparable to be like the rest of them wasn't inconsequential at all.
Teeth snagged at the inside of her cheek, an old sense of dread rising up from the pits within her core where it had long been laid to rest. There was something decidedly off about it all, and she couldn't quite place her finger on it. She'd thought their torments passed. There had been no shadows, no puppets. She hadn't seen Davenport nor Athanatos nor Moore in some time. No mention of hags had met her ears. But then again... why would they? She had been avoiding everyone, and everything. Where there had once been a time where nary a conversation could be had in the public of the halls without her catching the gist of it in passing, her thoughts had become so eclipsed by her sorrow and self-defeat that it was possible her attention wouldn't even be lured had a hag taken seat next to her. And now that she thought about it, people had been vanishing for some time now...
Lestrange... Martin... Holmwood... Burnett... Tan... Their faces blurred in and out of focus in her thoughts, already fading in the detail of their recollection. She couldn't even remember when last she'd seen them, all of them having been heavily involved in many of that which had come to pass. Who else? Who else had gone missing while she wallowed in her misery, consumed by loss? Had the hags simply gone into hiding? Returning to the indirect use of others to complete their bidding? Withdrawing to the shadows to weave invisible threads in the guise of defeat and renewed security? Was this year's new wave of new professors somehow connected?
The corner of Evelynn's mouth twitched at the thought, irritation with herself rising. In her apathy, complacency had crept in and spread like a disease. Once keenly aware of the goings-on about the school, avidly profiling every new face and keeping note of any little detail that might have some significance or another, she could no longer ever be certain who had been absent from class that afternoon. Any loss of touch had been of her own doing, willful ignorance. Eyes drifted shut with the mental lashing of her self-scolding, jaw setting. It was one thing to hold herself accountable for that which had happened. It was another entirely to stand idly while whatever disaster had beset the last dance continued to reign.
In a snap decision, she pushed off from her spot of contemplation, swiping the poster from the wall as she did. The heels of her boots tapped loudly off the stone flooring of the hall with every step, accompanying the crumpling of paper as the paper balled between her hands. It would find its way into a bin just as she swerved her path towards the dungeons. Supper would be wrapping up soon enough, and eventually the students would have to make their ways back to their respective dorms. The one she sought would only be found below, where shadows writhed and spiders dwelled. Apart from potions, it had been some time since Evelynn had ventured this way, and never quite to its full depths. With luck, Seeker would catch Seer on her way back from supper. But if all else failed, the lioness could always bear her teeth at a pliable little first-year to go hunting through the serpents' den... Regardless, if anyone was going to be able to fill in some of the gaps, it would be Seilun, and tonight would be the last chance before everyone left for the holidays the following morning.
STA | 10 STR | 2 EVA | 15 WIS | 15 ARC | 10 ACC | 13
keen eye fearless impartial wandmaker
Seeking Light in Dark Places
@Evelynn Decipio @Vladimir Athanatos
Opeila had been improving. Very slowly she had managed to drag herself out of that dark place that had tried so hard to keep her in the past years, throwing horror after horror at her until she almost lost herself in that darkness.
The fighting, the trying had paid off, the last summer had been the best Opeila had experienced in a while. The freedom had been like a fresh breeze, the Slytherin had almost forgotten what it felt like.
And then... yes. Then. Opeila once again found her thoughts dwell in dark places when she didn't actively willed them not to. The shadows seemed to follow her, engulf her like a dark cloud no one but her could see. She awoke drenched in sweats, gasping for air, from dreams that smelled like smoke and blood and sounded like screams and... him. He used to be a regular visitor in her dreams, but he hadn't been for a while now. Now it was his voice and blinding pain that often tore her from the horror of her dreams.
She didn't like being alone now. Most of the time she stayed near Alec or Aaron, the presence of both seemed to easily calm her. Patrols were easier since it started to get dark later, no more walking around the grounds in the dark, yet she stayed as far away from the forest as she could.
Opeila was on her way back to the common room when she heard the noise. Tap tap tap. Footsteps? Uncertain she turned towards the noise, torn between the immediate urge to quicken her own steps and make it to safety and the voice of responsibility that had become a lot quieter lately. Maybe this was a lost first year. Or a stupid one, trying to prove something by roaming around in the dungeons.
Carefully Opeila followed the noise, one hand on her wand already. "H- hello?" Annoyed, she cleared her throat. No stammering, no showing fear. "Whoever this is, you shouldn't- Christ, Decipio!", she gasped when she turned around a corner, almost colliding with her Gryffindor classmate, "You- you scared the life out of me."
Seeking Light in Dark Places
.–⭒′˙°ˑ⋅⤜∽●∼⤛⋅ˑ°˙‵⭒–.
⋖ 22/Mar/2024 @ after supper | ENGLISH [#715380] | FRENCH [#b654a9] ⋗
INTERACTIONS @Opeila Winters | MENTIONING n/a
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───•─•────────────────────────────────────•─•───Evelynn wouldn't even quite make it to the entrance of the Slytherin dorms before a voice spoke out from somewhere in the halls beyond. Recognizing it immediately as belonging to Seilun, she slowed her stepped, twisting out of the way as she rounded the corner to avoid collision. Though it seemed the prefect had managed to act soon enough anyway. "Just the individual I had hoped to find," Evelynn had chimed, relieved that half the evening wouldn't have to be spent in search of her peer, nor would she have to resort to any degrading acts of groveling to an underclassman to fetch the girl. Seilun didn't seem quite as pleased to see her, however. A shapely brow flared, gray eyes panning over the Slytherin in an are-you-quite-alright manner. "Why ever would I frighten you?" she wondered, clearly skeptical. "Ah, never mind," she waved the odd reaction aside just as quickly.
"I was hoping to find you. Do you have a moment? I realize it has been some time that we have spoken, but I... learned something recently, I suppose. Did you attend the autumn ball? I did not, but it was brought to my attention that it had fallen into a chaos akin to those dances from our earlier years here. After Ryan's cleansing and the hags' retreat, things seemed to have quieted down shortly thereafter. I will confess, I had thought things managed. You have always been one of those who seemed more in the know compared to most. Of course, Slytherin did so often seem to find itself at the heart of issues. For good reason, I suppose." A hand waved again, dismissing the early derailing of her thoughts. "I want to know what you know," she stated plainly. "There are gaps in my knowledge, and clearly not everything is as calm as I had been led to believe. Will you help my understanding?"
STA | 10 STR | 2 EVA | 15 WIS | 15 ARC | 10 ACC | 13
keen eye fearless impartial wandmaker Seeking Light in Dark Places
@Evelynn Decipio
"Why ever would I frighten you?"
"Why-" Tell me you're not a Slytherin without telling me you are not a Slytherin... Of course, Evelynn lived up in a tower when at Hogwarts. She did not see what beings lived down here.
"Not you exactly. It's the dungeons. Hearing noises down here is nearly as scary as hearing noises near you in the forest.", Opeila attempted to explain. "Never mind."
Opeila's eyebrows rose slightly when Evelynn mentioned the fall ball and she nodded at the question whether she had attended it. "I... I guess I am in the middle of things usually, but I deliberately stayed away from the dangers at that one." The tiniest smile snuck onto her face at the memory of her evening, the beautiful danger-free time she had spent with Aaron. And him asking her if she wanted to be his girlfriend. It had been perfect.
Hesitantly Opeila looked at the Gryffindor, not entirely sure if she wanted to bring up what had happened after the ball. There was no connection to what had happened at the ball, right? Or was there?
"I can't help you, when it comes to the ball.", she finally said, "But something happened after."
Opeila was already breathing in to continue, but then stopped. Looked down the corridor behind Evelynn. Not safe. They had already stayed here for longer than she liked. Usually she moved through the dungeons as fast and quietly as she could, not lingering in empty corridors. "Not here." The Slytherin turned around and walked a different way, in the direction of the potions classroom. Yes, that was a more public space, yes the risk of eavesdropping students was higher, but maybe... yes, just maybe eavesdropping students were better than whatever might or might not have moved back into the dungeons.
Once she could hear the voices of other people, Opeila stopped and turned to her classmate again. Close enough to be heard if they raised her voices, too far to be heard if they talked quietly, Perfect. "I don't know what happened at the ball, but there's something in the forest. We went to collect those odd mushrooms in the forest last year, a few weeks after the ball and..." She drew in a slightly shaky breath. "We were attacked. Some... some kind of monster is in the forest. Trees came to life and..."
... And what? Opeila had been pulled away. She had been unable to see what else happened, trapped in that circle of fire. Again she looked at Evelynn, trying to ascertain how vulnerable she could be. Was it safe to tell her about Vlad? If Evelynn chose to go around telling people about the attack, Opeila didn't mind- the more the better really, if people stayed away from the forest, that was a good thing. But that Vlad contacted her and not only that, but took control of her body? Perhaps it would be safer to keep that to herself.
"Have you found out anything new in the last years? Maybe we can put some more pieces of this puzzle together."
Seeking Light in Dark Places
.–⭒′˙°ˑ⋅⤜∽●∼⤛⋅ˑ°˙‵⭒–.
⋖ 22/Mar/2024 @ after supper | ENGLISH [#715380] | FRENCH [#b654a9] ⋗
INTERACTIONS @Opeila Winters | MENTIONING n/a
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───•─•────────────────────────────────────•─•───The thing about Hogwarts for Evelynn was that there wasn't any one particular area that was any more or less dangerous than any other. Her first fun-in with near death had involved a dhampir attack in the owlery within her first few months in the wizarding world. After that, she had experienced attacks on the train; shadow spiders and living trees in the woods; attacking mosps in the grounds; death-hungry dolls in the Great Hall; murderous wooden puppets and mustard gas in the dungeons; a deadly slag hug in the Entrance Hall; among others. The fact that it was the dungeons didn't particularly ring any more frightening to Evelynn than anything else and the unbothered lofting of a brow that she provided in response to Winter's attempt at an explanation suggested as much. She wasn't one of those who had managed to navigate years at school while remaining in ignorance.
"Mn.." Lips pursed with passive disappointment as Winters initially expressed that she had withheld from attendance at the ball. Of course this would have been the one time that she hadn't attended, Evelynn lamented. The small smile didn't go unnoticed, though, and without knowing what was going through the girl's head, the lioness had a hard time interpreting it as anything other than sinister, as though she knew something that the others didn't. That perhaps she'd held back from this ball because she had expected something to go awry. She'd almost resigned the interaction to be a loss, not expecting Winters to speak any further on the subject after that, but then her expression shifted. "Something after?" Evelynn's head canted curiously, expression receptive up until the point where the Slytherin decided to relocate them. Joining her in a glance back over her shoulder, Evelynn couldn't exactly fault her discretion. She was known for the same sort of caution, after all, and followed wordlessly after her.
Once the two were safely within earshot of the potions classroom, she glanced to Winters expectantly. "Mushrooms?" she echoed, obvious confusion on her features. She gave a small shake of her head. "This is the first I am hearing of any collection of mushrooms. Can you tell me more about those? Did you enter the forest with the purpose of collecting them or only discover them after entering for another reason?" But mushrooms aside, mention of a monster in the forest and trees coming to life sounded even more concerning. "I have seen the trees come to life before. That time when Ryan nearly transformed into a hag, a number of us went in pursuit of Marion. The trees came to life for her as well, parting at her command like soldiers stepping for their commander. They did not seem like treants, per se, but more like they had been animated by some unspoken magic. We were attacked by swarms of shadow-like arachnids at the time. From how you speak, though, it sounds like your encounter was with a singular creature rather than a group of them. Was it something different?"
STA | 10 STR | 2 EVA | 15 WIS | 15 ARC | 10 ACC | 13
keen eye fearless impartial wandmaker Seeking Light in Dark Places
@Evelynn Decipio
Did- did Evelynn not believe her? She was the one who lived down here and she had been here for many attacks. A solid 70% had happened in the dungeons or the forest, not counting those at the ball. Opeila felt a pang of anger about the Gryffindor's expression at her words about the dungeons, but she decided to swallow it. Starting an argument about the dangers of the dungeons didn't seem like it would be productive.
The mushrooms seemed to be news to Evelynn, which surprised Opeila. There had been an errand to remove those after all and they had been on the castle grounds as well. "Yes. Last year the grounds and forest floor were covered with those weird mushrooms. They were filled with some odd red liquid and smelled disgusting and they spread so fast..." Opeila shuddered at the memory.
"Most people collected them on the grounds, only some of us went into the forest. I went with Xailah Alptraum, Howard White, Clark Baird and Jack Warren. Clark decided to try eating them. I'm surprised he didn't die, honestly. I wanted to dig one up with the roots and-" Opeila shut her eyes for a few seconds. A few months had passed since the attack but the headaches persisted. Both when she used her binding mark and sometimes when she concentrated as well.
"There were bones attached to them. And that was when the attack started. I don't know if I triggered it."
Evelynn's story was news to Opeila as well. "Marion commanded them?" Opeila tried to think back, dug through the clear memories and tried her luck with the fog of pain and panic that came after. "There was... There was no person there when we were attacked."
Except...
What if...
Opeila had made up her mind about the events a while ago, but one moment- one moment was suddenly tilted. What if...
The colour drained from the Slytherin's face at the realization and she drew a shaky breath. Indeed, there had been no person there. But her body had been someone's tool and only now did the thought occur to her that it might not have been Vladimir.
At least not the whole time.