The Search Continues Open

@Xailah Alptraum

As thoughts and ideas floated between the two witches, Illowy's pen tapped against her jawline as she though -an alternative habit to her usual twirling; after all, it wasn't wise to twirl a glass pen should it fall. Illowy wasn't a fan of 'whatifs', it left too much to chance and kept too many unknowns hanging in the air. Solid facts, at least slightly more solid then the pile of hunches they were sitting on, were always preferable then hopefully lucky guesses.

Naturally, Illowy wanted to figure this out. If what Xailah said was true, that the owl ultimately turned into some sort of shadow creature... then it only stood to reason that that might become of the fate of the infected students. Once that became a reality, then it was more then likely that there would be no saving the children at that point, and destroying them would be the only way to protect those who weren't afflicted.

Pale eyes flickered through her notes, truly something more of a short hand method of writing barely decipherable to anyone aside from Illowy herself:

1: bloodletting & destroying with light
2: dose of poison to kill the parasite
3: transference ( but to what?)
4: find a hag that can break the curse (preferably not)

None of the ideas exactly had a ring of preferability to them... and all rather invasive and/or risky, possibly fatally so.

Lacing her fingers around the pen, Illowy rested her cheek in her palm, mauling over their ideas thus far. It felt like they'd come up with more ideas then their esteemed professors had thus far, "They're all certainly attemptable within reason..." she admitted softly before pressing her lips in a tight line. It could have been debatable if she was hinting at the idea of actually trying any of these ideas. While Illowy didn't exactly possess as much of a sense of self-preservation as one would expect a Slytherin to have, she had enough to not wish to become some kind of a martyr for her house. Attempting one of their ideas certainly would qualify one for martyrdom.

Even still, it was a lead. She had more solutions written down on her page then anyone else in the school had come to offer them; and ideas were already weaving through her mind as to how one might try to attempt these, "... not without some bloody high risk though." she added, dropping her pen into the center of her notebook to smooth her hair out of her face. The whole thing was nothing short of a gamble; risk what's left of your life, in the hopes of regaining the whole thing back.

The idea of surviving this curse was becoming bleaker and bleaker to Illowy. Of course she didn't want to die. After all she had things to do; and more importantly, people to take care of like Kyle. He needed her, to be with him to support him through his curse. Another part of her felt the tug, as though if she didn't try something, try to fight for not only her life, but her peer's, then what would have been the point? Like surrendering to the battle before noon.

"A low dose of poison isn't terribly frightening of an idea so long as there's a cure on standby in case it fails. But you do make a point that we don't know what could happen. The parasite could soak it up an become stronger or have some other adverse reaction..." she mused. Then a thought came to mind, "Wait... you said the owl became a shadow?" she question, looking up at Xailah, brows knitted together.

"What if the spiders had once been actual spiders? Its not exactly difficult to make creatures bigger, and what if, whatever this shadow curse was, is something similar to Lycanthropy?" she questioned, knowing she what she was about to say might be as sturdy as a castle on a foundation of sand, "Werewolves can only transfer their curse through a bite while transformed, that's how they carry their infection. When the owl was infected, it became like the spiders. What if the spiders were simply infected as well to be some kind of... carrier?" she stopped her thought suddenly, muttering to herself, "But if they were simply carriers, they'd have to be infected with some level of magic that's not naturally occurring and was created with a spell or a potion..."

The snake set her journal aside, less then gracefully leaning over the arm of her chair to retrieve one of the discarded potion ingredients book from earlier. She'd seen something, though had mostly skipped over it when she was looking through it with intent to find a cure. This one was the opposite.

"I saw a something in here earlier that had some similar effects to the Slytherin Curse." she explained, flipping wildly through the book until she found what she was looking for, "Here. Venomous Tentacula. Its used in something called Venomous Tentacula Juice. 'The potion is not deadly, but causes the consumer to feel a burning sensation on the inside, and often the skin darkens in colour.'" she recited, looking up at her friend once in a while before moving on to a description of the plant, "'On its own, however, the Venomous Tentacula plant can expel venom from it's shoots and its spikes are deadly. It's bite can easily stun or even kill its victim as well.'" she rested the book on her lap, "What whoever sent those spiders, modified or created a version of the Venomous Tentacula Juice, or something involving this plant, and is used the spiders to carry it? What is instead of a parasite, its a potion?" she suggested. It was a flimsy theory at best, but weren't all their theories flimsy at this point?

This wasn't the sort of thing children should be meddling in. Someone had to do it though. Meddle. Younglings were prone to frustration, making them vulnerable to impulse. A moment of vexation- the inability to find an answer- could lead to irrational decisions. What ifs, were always unideal, and putting faith into rumors was generally frowned upon. But as of this moment in time, both were needed. They provided some stability. Kept the children from going off and doing something dangerous. Or did they? Were the rumors more harmful than they appeared to be? Would a hit of desperation, drive a child into attempting elimination of the parasitic threat with one of the ideas presented? Most likely. Very likely. Which was sadly unsurprising. Hogwarts students had a bad habit of trying to take matters into their own hands. As seen here.

Xailah craned her neck, to peek at what Illowy had jotted down in her journal. There really wasn't a reason for doing so, other than habit- she already knew what the scribblings were, for the most part. Illowy spoke as she too brushed over what had been written. Her expression lead Xailah to believe the girl was sifting through each point, so the cub began to do the same. The curl of an upper lip, and uncertain tip of the head, was reflective of some sort of agreement. Yes, attemptable.... With reason. At this point one could wonder, if they were just trying to convince themselves that there was a chance. The more Xailah flipped through the ideas herself, the worse they began to sound. Her wince deepened. Hazy flickers from the light above, exaggerated the shadows on her face. This was quite the pickle- no, not a pickle exactly. More like a whole damn barrel of pickles. There were too many factors to weigh; making a definite and safe solution nearly unimaginable. In addition to that, turning Illowy into a science project was very unideal.

The snake deserved much better than that. As a human being, she deserved better. But, sometimes the better things lead to nothing. While less than ideal, testing was something that was going to come into the picture in some way or another. It had to. That was the cost that came with finding a cure to any sort of ailment. The people you try to save, become your Guinea Pigs. And sometimes if you're lucky, everything works out in the end. Xailah nodded along with Illowy, while the girl thumbed over the poison concept, and the owl. She expressed concerns- amidst them were conjectures of a most interesting nature. There were things that Illowy spoke of that Xailah hadn't really considered; a idea that stood out, was one that suggested that the shadow spiders had been regular spiders once upon a time.

Xailah had assumed that the spiders merely... existed. As in, they were shadow spiders, and always had been. But the theory of change- of transformation and engineering, had her wondering otherwise. "What you're implying is that the spiders were purposely made by sssomeone?" It was hardly an unrealistic thought. In fact it was quite feasible given what little information had already been laid on the table. "But why?" Asking for the 'why', didn't exactly help with anything. Nevertheless, it was a completely valid thing to question. Thoughts went back to the hags- the only beings capable, and willing enough to make monstrosities. Why would a hag want to create something, that turns beings into shadowy monsters? Xailah prodded the thought violently. She skimmed over all the knowledge she had on the hags. Her skimming would bring her to a very small snippet of a conversation. It hadn't made much sense to her, as to why a creature who ate children, would make something that would essentially destroy a child. Another thought occurred- why make deals with children too? Wouldn't it just be easier to eat them right away?

A few more seconds of mulling, and Xailah would have her answer. Children weren't simply a source of food for hags, they were fodder too. Cattle. Something expendable. Her eyes grew to the size of galleons. A twitch of a single strand of hair, hinted at some discomfort. "There were two covens of hags fighting with each other..." A finger rose, finding rest on the bow of the Gryffindors lips. "You don't sssuppose the curse was made to aid one coven in overthrowing the other, do you?" What was she getting at exactly? Weapons- living things being made into weapons of war. Not that it mattered. The why wouldn't be leading anyone closer to a solution.

Illowy would elaborate on her thoughts about the spiders, topping the particularly tricky theory-ridden, Ice-cream Sundae, with a very icky- but equally intriguing- cherry. She introduced a plant into the equation. It would seem that Illowy had been reading up on said plant; or at least glanced over it long enough to remember that it might have some importance. Xailah watched Illowy flip through the book on potions. A twinkle of curiosity darted across her lids. Illowy paused on a page and began to read. The Gryffindor leaned forward, determined to hear every word of what the snake had to share. Venomous Tentacula. Anyone who payed attention in herbology would be slightly familiar with the name. Xailahs brows rose gradually. The more Illowy read, the higher they went. Now this- this was interesting.

This Venomous Tenacula... it might have been worth looking into. The effects off the plants venom were far too specific to ignore. Burning sensation? Check. Darkening in color? Xailah thought about Vladimir, and his friend from the autumn ball; their skin appeared black as pitch beneath viridescent light. Check. "So," the Gryffindor began, "lets say this curse is a modified venom- or potion..." Venom... It didn't seem like the right word when referring to flora. "That would mean that an antivenom could be made from the plant," course that was assuming that the plants venom could be treated like that from a creature. Xailah boosted herself up slightly, as if to peek at the pages Illowy had stopped on. "I believe the plant is attainable here. I'm sure the herbology professor has a few in the greenhouses," the cub paused for a moment, before adding, "the potions professor might have some of the venom on hand too... it wouldn't be too difficult for a hag to obtain some of it." Why, it was all perfectly sensible to believe that the curse was some modification of the Tenaculas venom; given the facts that lay between the two girls. "Illowy, I think you are on to something- best mark that page."

@Xailah Alptraum

Illowy didn't need to be a mind reader to imagine the cub's thoughts when she alluded to the idea of taking such matters and trials into her own hands. Truly, it wouldn't surprise her if Xailah rejected even the idea of making such a proposal because if the hefty risks that would be involved. However, surely even the older girl knew that, at some point, someone was going to have to risk something if there was ever going to be an attempt to break the curse. Was it not better to lose one if it meant saving the rest? It was sound logic in the snake's mind. At least it might result in securing some better legacy for herself if she was able to help save her peers as opposed to being one of the many, soon faceless and pitiful children, who would eventually be lost to whatever this was.

Cattle die, kinsman die, and one day, you yourself will die. But that which never will parish, is the dead man's reputation.

Sure, the though if turning herself into a human lab rat wasn't ideal, but she wasn't the sort to try to recruit others afflicted to risk themselves in her place if she was just as capable. If there were no other options, she would do what she figured she had to. Not because she was brave by any mean; on the contrary, the prospects before her shook her to her very foundations, but because there was some sense of duty that she had to at least try and fight. She held the same view in dueling, that there was no pointing in fighting if she didn't give it everything she had. If she was going down, it was going to be kicking and screaming. There was no pride or honour in it if you gave up easily.

Illowy looked up at the fourth year when she questioned why someone might send spiders to potentially kill children. To which all she could offer was a small shrug until the cub added her bit of knowledge about the rivalling covens. That would be something to take into consideration for sure, "I wouldn't strike the plausibility of it from the list just yet..." she agreed. All of this seemed to consistently get worse ever since their little misadventure into the Forbidden Forest. The strange stick hangings, the dolls, the repetitive attacks on the castle and the students... not to mention the drama and accusations about Harry Potter and a former Headmaster that had happened within the school grounds... all of these things couldn't be coincidence. Something was rumbling it's way to the top, and it didn't care what was lost in it's wake.

A small, hopeful smile tugged at Illowy's lips as Xailah took her thoughts about the Venomous Tentucula into consideration. Maybe they'd thought of something even their esteemed professors hadn't. Though she wasn't going to let that idea go to her head quite yet, "To the best of my knowledge, there was never an antidote for Venomous Tentecula Juice, because it isn't suppose to be lethal. The victim was just expected to ride it ought until it wears off, like the Slug Vomiting curse." the girl explained, either way, she wasn't about to let go of the potential tether she might've found herself, "The doesn't mean one couldn't be worked out though."

The snake nodded along at the suggestion to inquire to the professors. "We should ask Professor Barlow if there's any record of missing ingredients just before the Slytherin attack." she added, not even hesitating to tear a small bit of parchment from her journal to mark the page she'd been reading. Surely now, finally, they might be onto something. Something actually useful!