23 Jul 2020, 06:52
A VanCleaf Debrief
So it still wasn't common knowledge, then. The reaction that Morgan had given Evelynn in response to her passing comment about the dhampir attack in the owlery said everything. A slight frown creased the redhead's brown, lips thinning. It was aggravating, really, just how much happened at this school of which the general populous remained completely ignorant. Wasn't that what the Headliner was for? Why weren't they publishing these news-worthy pieces. The victim had made her promise not to tell anyone.. Or tried to. Evelynn hadn't actually agreed to it. In fact, she had half a mind to report it to the professors. Especially if occurrences like this, where a student could be left completely vulnerable, was to be the norm.
As for the jab of humour that had followed, Evelynn wasn't really sure how to react to it. Really, it wasn't at all a laughing matter… Had Morgan not preceded the comment by verbally stating her opinion on the occurrence, Evelynn might have had half a mind to chew her out right there. Instead, she had held her tongue, sufficing with a simple scrutinising glance.
"Unfortunate," Evelynn replied to what came next. Although she wasn't at all surprised, she had been hoping that Morgan might have been better informed than she when it came to the identities within their house. She supposed for now, this Xailah would have to remain a mystery. There was nothing more to it after that. Besides, the elaboration to the conclusion of the hunting was far more interesting.
"Really?" The last one had never changed? At all? Her eyes darted in the direction of the Tapestry of Desire, examining it anew. She knew that it had resisted any deep revelations prior to her leaving but she'd been hoping that there was at least something new to come from it in the time that she was gone. Morgan's continuation drew her attention back, however. "Floo, polyjuice or portkey? Hm.."
She pondered on those for a moment. Admittedly, she knew very little about any of them. The floo she assumed was a reference to using floo powder. She'd heard mention of that during her first visit to Diagon Alley when Professor Bercegeuay had been explaining to her the various means of getting to the shopping district. Really, it hadn't occurred to her that making use of what seemed to be so common a mode of transportation in the Wizarding world would be able to grant such easy access to the common room. Could that be a method of access? Then there was the Polyjuice. She wasn't sure what that was, although she vaguely recalled someone making mention of it being a potion, so she at least had a starting point for looking into it further. And then the portkey.. Another mystery.
"I have no intention to stop looking, either," Evelynn confirmed, taking a few steps back to allow herself to sink pensively into a nearby armchair. As far as she was concerned, now that the unconscious upperclassman had been delivered onto a couch in relative safety and comfort, the job involving her was done. "In fact, I don't think I'll be able to stop dwelling on it all for a good while. It just… It's odd. I think I'm going to try to figure out who the people in the tapestries might be representing. But I also find myself thinking back to the articles in the Prophet as well. I really think there might be some connections between them all, and I can't help but wonder if there have been other articles published in previous Daily Prophet issues that might also be hinting at some of all of this. So I plan to look into all of that as well…"
A haze of thought clouded the girl's gaze then as her body seemed almost to sink further into the armchair. She was surprisingly exhausted. Moreso than she had been in some time. Usually sleep eluded her, and no doubt it would again tonight. As much as the night's events and the hauling of a heavy (relatively compared to her slight frame) body had drained her physically, her mind was on overdrive. Even now, as she propped an elbow on the arm of the chair, palm lifting to cup her chin, she lost herself momentarily to the abyss of her mind.
"Maybe we could meet up again after the holidays?" she mused, pulling her attention back to Morgan.
[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH @Jo Morgan[/font]
13 Aug 2020, 15:34
A VanCleaf Debrief
@Evelynn Decipio
"I'll leave the Prophet articles up to you, then." To be frank, Jo hated magical newspapers. She hated the way the people in the photographs shouted and flailed about vying for her attention, distracting her from the words she was trying to read. (There was a reason why videos were not embedded into Muggle books - because then you wouldn't be reading anymore.) She hated the jargon, the politics, the ways they talked about Muggles. Even though nothing was blatantly hostile, Muggles always seemed to be the unfortunate "problem" of the wizard community; the ones who needed to be worked around and avoided. The ones whose ignorance came even at the price of comfort and safety for wizards. She hated the fearmongering headlines, the Ministry officials who filled every page with their noxious smiles. Most of all she hated to think how one day long ago her father had probably graced those pages a
The lioness grinned (as if that would be enough to save her bruised reputation as an utter moron), and bounded off to her dorm for the well-deserved "rest" that she would no doubt spend staring at the wall, unable to sleep, always waiting for the shadow of a killer to find out who knew what with a wand to her throat. At least that would be better than an ogre, and now Evelynn probably knew as much as she did. It was always good to have someone who knew more than you. It was always better to have someone to point fingers at - someone to "betray" should the need arise, as Lady Aithne would say. Always make sure that whichever side wins, they think you were with them all along. But was that really the best advice?
There was something in her Housemate that made her think. Evelynn could be dangerous to Jo as an enemy. Far too clever, with a keen eye, and most of all with an appearance of trustworthiness.
No, that wasn't what was making Jo think. Was there something in the redhead that reminded Jo of herself? Usually alone, buried six feet under in books. Wary and slow to trust another. Curious to the point of risking safety to poke around in strange affairs. Determined to discover the truth.
Perhaps. But Evelynn would never be her friend. It wasn't very likely, at least - not after the first impression she had made. Besides, friends got you hurt. Friends fought with other friends and you just had to stand by and watch. Friends were a liability, plain and simple. They dragged you down.
Allies, though, were assets.
Of course, an ally wouldn't hurt, would it? Just someone to ask questions to - someone to bring information to. Someone she wouldn't feel hopelessly lost and alone with. No? Not that? Maybe just the information part, then. Maybe. If she could learn to trust this girl, then maybe...
Ah. There she was. Treating someone as trustworthy just because they appeared as such. Just as gullible as the rest of them, she thought. How would she ever learn to investigate things well if she went around making friends and enemies? There were so many student as Hogwarts. Every one was a suspect. Every one was a witness.
Friend or foe, Evelynn was right. There were worse things than Slytherins roaming the halls at night. But one of those things could very well be a Gryffindor. This was no time to be soft.
"Sounds like you've got your winter break all planned out." Jo raked her fingers through her disheveled hair, which had taken advantage of her impromptu burst of physical activity to become hopelessly tangled. She could already imagine her erudite Housemate knee-deep in old newspapers, pinning clippings to a whiteboard and weaving intricate patterns between them with yarn like in those old movies about serial killers - the ones where the killer would turn out to be one of the detectives and you felt obligated to act shocked anyway."I have no intention to stop looking, either. In fact, I don't think I'll be able to stop dwelling on it all for a good while. It just… It's odd. I think I'm going to try to figure out who the people in the tapestries might be representing. But I also find myself thinking back to the articles in the Prophet as well. I really think there might be some connections between them all, and I can't help but wonder if there have been other articles published in previous Daily Prophet issues that might also be hinting at some of all of this. So I plan to look into all of that as well…"
"I'll leave the Prophet articles up to you, then." To be frank, Jo hated magical newspapers. She hated the way the people in the photographs shouted and flailed about vying for her attention, distracting her from the words she was trying to read. (There was a reason why videos were not embedded into Muggle books - because then you wouldn't be reading anymore.) She hated the jargon, the politics, the ways they talked about Muggles. Even though nothing was blatantly hostile, Muggles always seemed to be the unfortunate "problem" of the wizard community; the ones who needed to be worked around and avoided. The ones whose ignorance came even at the price of comfort and safety for wizards. She hated the fearmongering headlines, the Ministry officials who filled every page with their noxious smiles. Most of all she hated to think how one day long ago her father had probably graced those pages a
"Maybe," Jo said, and her smile was grim. "If we're lucky, we'll have another murder by then, and this time the killer will leave us some actual evidence so we don't have to spend hours staring at portraits." Her voice lowered to a mutter as she became less and less aware of her audience. "Gotta look up some damn ogres, and that dumbass seal, and fuckin uhhhhh... fireplace powder." She looked up briskly at the redhead, rubbing her hands together. "We can meet after the holidays if we're still alive by then. No promises. We're Gryffindors, after all, and staying away from danger is a lot of hard work. A bit too much work, in my opinion.""Maybe we could meet up again after the holidays?"
The lioness grinned (as if that would be enough to save her bruised reputation as an utter moron), and bounded off to her dorm for the well-deserved "rest" that she would no doubt spend staring at the wall, unable to sleep, always waiting for the shadow of a killer to find out who knew what with a wand to her throat. At least that would be better than an ogre, and now Evelynn probably knew as much as she did. It was always good to have someone who knew more than you. It was always better to have someone to point fingers at - someone to "betray" should the need arise, as Lady Aithne would say. Always make sure that whichever side wins, they think you were with them all along. But was that really the best advice?
There was something in her Housemate that made her think. Evelynn could be dangerous to Jo as an enemy. Far too clever, with a keen eye, and most of all with an appearance of trustworthiness.
No, that wasn't what was making Jo think. Was there something in the redhead that reminded Jo of herself? Usually alone, buried six feet under in books. Wary and slow to trust another. Curious to the point of risking safety to poke around in strange affairs. Determined to discover the truth.
Perhaps. But Evelynn would never be her friend. It wasn't very likely, at least - not after the first impression she had made. Besides, friends got you hurt. Friends fought with other friends and you just had to stand by and watch. Friends were a liability, plain and simple. They dragged you down.
Allies, though, were assets.
Of course, an ally wouldn't hurt, would it? Just someone to ask questions to - someone to bring information to. Someone she wouldn't feel hopelessly lost and alone with. No? Not that? Maybe just the information part, then. Maybe. If she could learn to trust this girl, then maybe...
Ah. There she was. Treating someone as trustworthy just because they appeared as such. Just as gullible as the rest of them, she thought. How would she ever learn to investigate things well if she went around making friends and enemies? There were so many student as Hogwarts. Every one was a suspect. Every one was a witness.
Friend or foe, Evelynn was right. There were worse things than Slytherins roaming the halls at night. But one of those things could very well be a Gryffindor. This was no time to be soft.
"Out here, the wild ones are taming the fear within me.
Scared to call them my friends and be broken again; Is this hope just a mystical dream?"
22 Sep 2020, 04:05
A VanCleaf Debrief
With the unconscious girl brought in from the storm and deposited safely enough to a temporary bed, the conversation took a turn to the casual. Or as casual as a conversation could possibly turn after having received the sort of novel information that had been bestowed upon them only hours before by the common room portraits. Already, Evelynn was eager to dive further into the mystery, thoughts turning to the Daily Prophet she'd skimmed through while discoveries of enchanted tapestries had been made.
"I suppose so.." she allowed, folding one hand over the other to hang against her lap when her dorm mate commented on her plans for the holidays.
Really, it wasn't so much that anything had been planned as the necessity to investigate further had been firmly dropped into her lap. How could she not look into the papers? How could anyone possibly walk away from tonight and not desire to pull apart the pieces and try to make sense of what they'd all discovered? She didn't comment on that, though, merely nodding as Morgan said she'd leave it to her. By the sound of it, the girl had no intention of taking any further action. That was… disappointing. But then, perhaps Evelynn shouldn't have been surprised. As curious as Morgan had been, she hadn't exactly seemed all that aware. Perhaps the girl had merely been caught up in the drama of the moment rather than the actual intellectual pursuit of the mystery.
This notion only solidified with the half-hearted 'maybe' that came next. The expression all but said, No, I don't think so, but you seem keen and I don't want to hurt your feelings. Evelynn was about ready to dismiss the idea entirely and wave away her offer with an apology when Morgan continued her train of thought. Brow arching, Evelynn spared no effort to hide the scepticism she cast in Morgan's direction. Perhaps she'd misheard? Had she really just suggested that if they were lucky there would be another murder? Was she mental? The answer seemed to point invariably to yes as she then descended to the mutterings of what could easily be interpreted as madness. What she could possibly be referring to about ogres and seals, Evelynn hadn't the faintest idea.
"Er…" Evelynn hesitated, straightening suddenly with the girl's unexpected shift from her personal monologue to addressing the redhead directly. "..right."
And then she was gone. Still somewhat shell-shocked and not entirely certain as to what she just agreed to or if she was going to regret doing having done so, Evelynn watched as her house mate bounded away, without so much as waiting for a reply, and up the stairs presumably to their dorm. Alone but for the upperclassman snoozing feet away, Evelynn gave a small shake of her head as though to clear her thoughts that they might fall back properly into place. This night had been… something. What, exactly, she couldn't quite yet be certain.
Quiet steps carried her to a nearby armchair by the fire. One that eagerly accepted her form in plush comfort as she eased into it. There was certainly much to think on. From the tapestries, to the mask and glove that had been mentioned, to sleeping draughts that seemed too strong, and whatever nonsense — or perhaps it was actually valid commentary — that had spewed from Morgan's lips. The holidays to which Evelynn had recently looked with some reservation now seemed welcoming for the time away from class that they would afford her for more careful study. Plus, maybe this all could work in her favour. She could feign the need to study, and appear very much to be telling it truly, and hole away in her room.
But, that would be for then. Now, she desired little more than to sleep. Not particularly keen to follow too quickly behind Morgan, however, she would wait. With a sigh, her head lolled back to rest against the high backing of the chair. Lids heavy with weariness from the unexpected action, they sank to a close.
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