Destiny at Dusk pv Scout Fu-Hai Finished

april 28th, 2024		sunday, late evening
wc: 670		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shepard		mentioning: Asteria Nagla

Her bated breath was a good sign that Scout knew very well that she was probably supposed to be inside the castle right now, not walking around the Grounds. The sun had long since left its spot in the sky, and the moon shined eerily over her. The castle gloomed in the light provided by the reflection, which was just about the only positive thing Scout could gather from this. Well, that and she was growing a preference to the night time.

It was nearing the end of dinner, which Scout had not skipped. Asteria, her cousin, would have been equally upset and confused if she had. Scout can already hear the sounds of Asteria shouting at her at breakfast the next morning, and she was not interested in that. She also couldn't tell Asteria that the reason she wanted to go out so late was to climb trees without the worry of having to see and deal with other students.

Being a dhampir was a funny thing. During the day, her skin would burn and her eyes felt like they were constantly squinting. During the night, everything felt nicer, easier. Her pupils would expand and it felt like she could see everything, the air was always nice and cool- being a dhampir at night was cool, if she were to interject. Not so much in the daytime, but whatever. Being a dhampir also meant that she could spot a young girl rustling in a tree, the same tree Scout had plans on climbing that evening. There were two ways Scout could go about this situation, both moderately the same in ending. She could interrupt the girl now, or she could wait and watched to see where she would go. The latter might've been the smarter option, but Scout was first of all, not known for her smartness, and second of all, not known for her patience.

As Scout neared, the girl pulled a cloak over her head. Was- she hadn't seen Scout, had she? No... she must've just had plans regarding the piece of clothing. But why would you need a cloak to conceal your whereabouts if you weren't planning on doing something bad with it? Was the girl trying to sneak out, or was she trying to sneak in? She couldn't have been older than Scout, so whatever the girl was attempting to do couldn't have been that bad, but it might've been a good idea to stay a bit on the offense.

The final thing Scout had learned, not so much from her youth as a half-vampire, but more so her current year at Hogwarts, was that dhampir's are not particularly good at casting spells. To stay on the offensive side, using her wand might've been more of a hassle than something else. Something like her built in teeth or claws. She had spent her year so far keeping her vampiristic traits on the down low, but this was one of those case scenarios where something like that wouldn't be possible. Especially since she hadn't planned on casting a spell.

But... on the other hand, she didn't want to needlessly scare someone who Scout was pretty sure was just a classmate. Well, wouldn't the girl have to have been prepared for a case scenario like this, where someone did see her sneaking around? Either way, Scout was pretty sure there was no way to go about this without someone getting spooked.

Normally, her fangs are hidden beneath the gaps in her teeth, but she had decided to bare them, just for the safety of it. She crossed her arms and asked the girl, in her casual tone. "What are you doing?" The words were lax, but there was a bit of a lisp in the way she talked. The topology of her mouth changing wasn't something she thought was new, but she was still more used to talking without fangs.

"Not something bad, right?"

Meeting @Scout Fu-Hai

Emily... You tool...

She turned around slowly, grimacing as she internally kicked herself over the unwanted situation she now found herself in... Only to be met with a Gryffindor student standing rather casually, almost mocking in gesture... With a set of visible fangs to accompany the look.

Better than a teacher I suppose...

She swallowed. She did prepare for something like this should it ever happen... Sort of... Not really. At least, not with a student. If it had been a teacher, a lot of over-explaining and frantic begging would have been the result. But right now Emily was struggling how to react, especially when she was being very relaxed about seeing Emily in a cloak that was most likely forbidden for use and sporting very... unique features. Emily felt her voice catch in her throat as she struggled to find the words to even begin.

"I was just... Going for a... Walk..." She said softly.

Well... That's kind of true at least...

Comfortable since she was sheltered from the rest of the Grounds thanks to the trees, Emily sighed defeatedly and let her hood down, showing her face. She knew she had been caught out and given the stance she was being met with, trying to show any kind of resistance to this student would end more horribly than admitting defeat in the first place, if her demeanour was anything to go by alone.

"Look... I know we don't know each other and all that but... Can you please forget you ever saw me? Because if anyone at all sees me sneaking across the Grounds at this hour then..."

She sighed again, much more heavily this time. What was the use? She had been caught out.
"Nevermind... You can report me if you must..."

However, something about those fangs protruding from this girl's lips kept Emily's eyes glued to her. There was something special about her if Emily's gut didn't know any better. After her eyes lingered for too long, she glanced down at the ground, feeling hotter and more embarrassed than she had ever been so far.

_{Word Count: 376}

april 28th, 2024		sunday, late evening
wc: 350		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shepard		mentioning: Asteria Nagla

There are a plethora of words that could be used to describe Scout, namely 'animated' and 'stupid'. A word that would never be used to describe her was 'snitch', because Scout was absolutely not a snitch, and her ways weren't going to change at Hogwarts, nor in the near or far future. So that was out of the question, obviously.

"Wha-, huh? I'm not gonna tell on you. I just wanna know what you're doing." But that wasn't the only thing Scout wanted to know, because the girl was looking at her mouth with a look that Scout was unsure she'd be able to describe. Like some kind of curiosity, but it was still confusing. "Oh, and why you're looking at me like that."

The girls eyes burned to her face, more specifically to her lips. It took Scout a painfully long time to realize what the girl was even looking at- it wasn't second nature for her fangs to be out, and it wasn't like she was going to actively remember that she had forced them out of their secret hiding spot. Restating the 'stupid' that she was.

"Are you looking at my teeth? Do you think they're cool?" 'I think they're cool', she had planned to say, but she knew better than to boast. Her aunties would say she was too prideful, and that she has too big of an ego. "My fangs look a lot like how they do in movies. Like really razor sharp, you can even prick your finger on them if you try! But... I guess that kinda goes for every tooth huh? Well, maybe not your front teeth, 'cause those really aren't sharp."

Ever the talkative, Scout stopped herself from going on a teeth-related rant, just to let the girl in front of her actually speak. She really had a talking problem, wasn't she supposed to be scaring this girl or something like that?

Surprised by @Scout Fu-Hai

Emily blinked a few times. If there was ever a situation she didn't know how to react to, this would be the first. In the span of no more than a few minutes, she had gone from sneaking with a probably-more-than-illegal cloak, to being caught by a student who wasn't going to turn her in for obviously sneaking off the Grounds at an inappropriate time of the evening... Now all of a sudden-

"You're a vampire?" Emily covered her mouth but nowhere near as fast as the question that fell out of her mouth did. If there was ever an inconvenient time to ask something - let alone a question like that - it was now. Emily felt her cheeks flare even hotter for asking such a ridiculous question. It was enough to make the girl standing in front of her, who had been talking away for the last minute, to stop and blink in surprise back at her.

Get a grip, Shephard...

"Sorry... That was a little strange to ask. A-Anyways... I wasn't going to do anything bad. I only wanted to... take a walk in the..." She lowered her voice to no louder than a whisper. "...forest."

She glanced in the direction the forest, not that she needed to show what she was talking about. She fiddled with the hem of her cloak awkwardly as a beat of silence washed over the girls. Emily could still see the girl looking at her curiously, still in her casual stance. Emily finally broke the silence.

"Those fangs do look impressive..." She said, not at all out of judgement but more out of wonder, fuelled by how excited the girl was about them. Emily chuckled shyly after processing what she just said.

Emily... Stop... Fricking... Talking...!

_{Word Count: 324}

april 28th, 2024		sunday, late evening
wc: 350		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shepard		mentioning: :]

"Uh... I mean I guess?" Scout was a vampire, given the sharp teeth, claws, burning in the sunlight, et cetera- but she didn't suck people's blood or turn into a bat. Which is kind of a shame, being able to turn into a bat would be so cool. The blood-sucking thing not so much, but the school gave Scout a blood pop once a day to prevent her from getting an urge to partake in such an act. Their words, not hers.

"I'm not like an actual vampire though, they're not allowed at Hogwarts. I mean, you go here, shouldn't you know what a Dhampir is?" Asking the question like it was common knowledge was a bit on the nose for Scout, considering if she weren't a dhampir, she wouldn't have a damn clue what the word even meant. Less so if someone just said they were vampires but not as cool. But that kind of summed it up anyway, didn't it? What a lame description, too!

"Why would you even wanna go into the forest?" Scout asked again, taking note of the awkward behavior emanating from the girl in front of her. "Isn't it super dangerous or something like that, like there's actual vampires in there or something." The kind that would suck your blood and leave you for dead, or turn you into a blood thrall. Not Scout. "I don't wanna be a Debbie Downer or something like that, but it sounds pretty dangerous to me. Plus, you only have your wand and stuff to protect yourself, what if something happens and you lose your wand?"

She had planned to add 'and you don't have sharp teeth to bite at something if you can't cast magic', but that didn't feel like the right thing to say. Normal people can bite things too, her dad always told her that human teeth can crush something like fifty kilos! But ouch, that probably wouldn't be fun on your mouth.

Curious over @Scout Fu-Hai

Emily never liked to make assumptions so passively but she had a feeling her hunch was right. Just seeing the fangs gave her that gut feeling, but now that she said it, she was indeed-

"A Dhampir..." She repeated quite incredulously. She was already familiar with the term, given the folkloric enthusiast she was. "A half human, half vampire..."

Emily was ready to collapse. A Dhampir... A Dhampir... was standing right. In front. Of her. "And here I was, ready to sneak into the forest to see if I could see one with my own eyes... Only to suddenly run into a Dhampir on the school grounds of all places...!" .

She was unquestionably miffed and confused over the whole notion. Yet at the same time, she was in no position to complain considering that the opportunity she was waiting for was standing right in front of her... Quite literally, with her hands on her hips and looking back at Emily rather curiously. Honestly, something about this revelation caught her off guard as she stammered to answer her shower of questions. She wasn't the only one - Emily had plenty to ask her herself, but considering this girl had asked first...

"Well, yes I do only have my wand... But I know a few spells and jinxes to defend myself at the very least. A-And if something happens I could just..."

Emily sighed. Who was she kidding? She was no fighter and as this girl said, real vampires exist in the forest. Among other things. Emily was vulnerable no matter how prepared or brave she was feeling.

She slumped against the tree and looked out onto the lake. "I guess the reason why I want to go out there is because it's just so... fascinating. Growing up, I've loved stories about nocturnal beasts and other mythological stories, fiction or otherwise. A lot of them are tragic but I always wondered how different the world would be if they were real. And now, being Muggle-born in a world where creatures like that actually exist and realising that... It's hard not to give in and see for myself, you know?"

Emily couldn't even argue it as an excuse. It was the truth with all sincerity poured into her tone. She looked down at the cloak and exhaled softly. She was a daydreamer but this girl brought up a good point. Dreams aren't reality and the reality could easily see Emily harmed or worse...

_{Word Count: 439}

april 28th, 2024		sunday, late evening
wc: 300		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shepard		mentioning: :]

Scout could... not relate to this girl, not one bit. Unlike the young student standing in front of her, Scout had been exposed to many magical beasts, although she was obviously most informed about vampires. Her 妈妈 had a coworker who was a werewolf, and he had told Scout a many story about his transformations upon request. The wolfsbane potion is super helpful to them, her 妈妈 says!

Though she was a thrill seeker in her own fashion, there wasn't much thrill to be had from just walking around a deadly forest at night. Not only were there the issues of the dragons or ghosts that definitely resided there, but the scarier issue of a professor noticing a missing student and going to look for them. Scout wasn't the kind of person to wish for an early death, but she thinks she'd rather deal with a monster in the forest than an angry professor. At least for one of them she'd have a chance to get out of the consequences of her actions.

"I'm not gonna pretend like I get what you mean, but if it would dissuade you from going into the forest and getting eaten by a dragon or something, I can try to answer any questions you might have about dhampirs?" She was true in her wording, she really didn't want this girl to get chopped up by some giant mythical beast. Though there was the issue of Scout arguably not being the best person to ask for questions about her own vampirism. Wasn't there a professor of magical creatures that girl could ask instead? "I don't know any textbook stuff about vampires or whatever- but both me and my dad are dhampirs so like... I have experience, I guess?"

Fascinated with @Scout Fu-Hai

Reducio

Speech: #cfa120
Items: Cameo Cloak
Stats: Stamina: 6|Evasion: 5|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 7|Arcane Power: 5|Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast
Putting your banner to good use!

Emily was rather surprised this girl was being so open about her unique genetics. She figured she would've snapped back her for asking such a forwardly rude question not five minutes ago - she probably could've done it literally with her fangs - but here she was as relaxed as anyone she'd ever seen before, willing to answer the multitude of questions that Emily has had since the first book she ever picked up on magical creatures.

Emily took off the cloak and hid it back in the tree trunk where it would be hidden safely from the public eye. She knew this girl long enough to trust that she wouldn't tell anyone about it. That's what Emily hoped anyway. She sunk to the ground and sat down cross-legged.

"You're really okay talking about yourself like this? I mean, it all feels so personal. I wouldn't want you to feel exploited or anything..." But judging by the girl's body language and expression it seemed that she didn't seem too bothered by it. Then again, she could tell she was worried about her running off into the forest the second her back was turned. Nevertheless Emily complied and patted a spot on the ground beside her, inviting her to sit with her.

When she came over Emily asked another question politely. So you're a dhampir... and you say your father is one too? Do many members in you family have... some kind of vampirism?" She was a little reluctant to finish the question, worried the girl would take it as some kind of personal or judgemental attack. Emily found herself mentally scolding herself for being overly curious.

In fact it wasn't even curiosity anymore... It was borderline fascination.

_{Word Count: 320}

april 28th, 2024		sunday, late evening
wc: 450		dhampir | sensitive to sunlight
interacting with: @Emily Shepard		mentioning: :]

If she had been asked a year or two ago to talk about her own thoughts on vampirism, there was a big chance that Scout would vehemently deny being a vampire. She would be completely unable to even think about it. The insecurities still seeped deep within her, but learning more about how the wizarding world viewed her kind was... helpful, in a way.

Talking to such a nice girl who was absolutely fascinated with her was helpful, too.

"Nope, just me and my dad." Scout opts to drop onto the ground and sit next to her newfound... 'friend'? The thought felt odd in her brain, and she decides to keep it in the back of her mind for now. She still didn't have the girl's name so, 'friend' was a term she didn't want to use just yet. But, well, she was kind of telling her about the whole 'I'm part vampire' thing, so that should've accounted for something.

"My dad was turned when he was a kid. After he got turned- most of my family lives in this village in the Shanghai district, and it's super tight knit. He had to hide it from everyone! And I do too when we go back to visit. Only me and my 妈妈 and my cousin know." She trails off, and then remembers that that makes it sound like she'd be ostracized or something due to her vampirism. "Oh! But not because of the whole being a vampire, it's just 'cause they're muggles. But yeah, just me and him."

Er... what else was interesting about being a dhampir? You could bite people if you were strong enough, and she had heard that some people could turn others in blood thralls. That didn't sound very fun. Sometimes she'd feel this weird urge to drink blood, even though she had only ever tried it by itself a few times. It wasn't nearly as interesting as she bet the girl thought it was.

"I don't really know what else is interesting about being me. I have cool teeth and I'm really bad at casting magic because, apparently that's a vampire thing." To show an example, Scout dug her wand out of her pocket and pointed it away from the two of them, casting the Dancing-Feet Spell on a rogue mouse. To- no surprise- the mouse didn't even move. It just stood there and stared at Scout with what she could only assume was a dumbfounded look. Or disappointment.

"Though I can't blame that on the whole vampirism thing entirely. I'm really bad at casting magic, so I think even if I were a normal person like you, I'd probably still confuse that mouse."