Closed An Overture to Survival OPEN

May 23rd 2024
The Huffie Has Had Enough with @Evelynn Decipio - @AngelFyre McCubbin - @Astra Norrick - @Rebecca Lark - @Pericles Dralt - @Raizel Voltrouz
Mentioning: @Scout Fu-Hai
Speech: #cfa120
Thoughts: Italics
OOC Notes: ...
Aaaand just a friendly reminder that this Hufflebuddy loves everyone here (Line up for your complimentary Huffle-snug!)

"Peace and love is great and all, but it won't protect you--"

Hold on--

"--Intent and instinct don't matter if you're dead either way."

Maybe, but--

"How many more stabbings, how many more near-deaths, how many more accusations?"

That's what I'm trying to--

"Would you excuse him for your twilight? At what cost, Emily?"

"I didn't say--"

“I'd rather not take any chances if you asked me.”

Don't even--

“I too, would rather try my best not to die if I plan on finishing my studies here.”

Obviously that's not what I--!

No, no, no! This wasn't how this was supposed to go! Emily was only trying to help, to try and take the heat off of everything that had befallen the group by re-establishing some common ground, some common sense. To be met with a barrage of responses like this was not what she meant to stir.

Rebecca and Astra's fury was inescapable and Raizel's disapproving condescendence grated Emily in all the worst spots. Even the feathery companion atop of Evelynn's shoulder - whom was now revealed to be more than what met it's single eye - was looking at Emily like some madwoman. Everything they said, as true as they might be and as passionate as they were, felt like devastating blows to Emily and her confidence... And her hopes. Whatever she could've said to fire back at them struggled to come out of her mouth as her quivering lips halted her speech. She avoided all eye contact from everyone in the group.

They're angry and upset. That's all it is. They're not trying to...

Whatever comfort Emily could try and take away from all this already felt like a distant opportunity as their destructive remarks began haunting her, reassurance dying off briskly. If Emily felt hopeless before to try and add to this debate, then she sure as hell felt useless now. She didn't want to be. She only wanted to be there for these people, strangers or not. But if this was truly how they felt, then what hope could Emily actually bring? A big song and dance about equality and beauty in the natural world. All for what? More hate?

The thought of talking a big game to only be this worthless tosser made Emily sick and resentful. Her lack of comebacks didn't help. The only thing she could shoot back was a pitiful, whimpering--

"Stop..."

She backed away too far that she tripped over a small stump in the ground and slid backwards, the tree behind her stopping her from falling. She squeaked frightfully when her back hit the trunk. Nothing like nature mocking her for being surrounded by metaphorical predators. Her head was low to hide her eyes and mask her stunned demeanour. She didn't want AngelFyre to be the next person to hear something as perceptually disheartening like the rest. If she did, then that would've nailed in the fear that Emily probably was mad for trying to suggest something that wasn't violence. And Evelynn... Emily didn't even want to begin to think about what she would say, if she even did. The woman said enough to put the knot of caution in her to begin with. To unravel that and turn it into something like insanity would've been sad.

No!

Emily wasn't insane. She wasn't all-knowing, she wasn't the fixer of everybody's problems, but she wasn't quite necessarily wrong either. She straightened up, a slight sting up her back from where she collided moments ago. She fisted her hands to filter out the rising tension in her, her fingers relaxing when she finally had the ability to speak again.

A right time or wrong one, Emily has heard enough. She had enough.

"You lot seem to thrive on something so pathetic..." she said quietly. "Anger can be justified, but I don't remember Hogwarts being renowned for cowardly assaults among and between students." The thought of Rebecca trying to incinerate Astra earlier came to mind. "Hate breeds more hate, and for the record, I don't plan on dying either. Actually, I don't recall ever saying that." She eyed Raizel.

"But I do want to learn. Wasn't that the original intention for how Hogwarts came to be? To learn... To maybe defend. But I don't remember wanting to acquire power to murder my friends."

Mind-reading was one of many superpowers Emily wanted growing up. She might not ever fathom the extent of pain the group before her had to experience, how much of that they'd want to forget and how much they had to live with afterwards... And at the risk of maybe missing something or misinterpreting their words behind their venomous tones, Emily wasn't going to excuse them for thinking killing each other was the way to go in any case.

"Try and remember who you're sharing the world with. I'm not asking you to like or forgive the people that have wronged you, but I don't want any of you to think that you can heal by acting like your oppressors..."

She let out a bitter exhale. "As for my personal venture... Do you seriously think I hadn't considered the risks? I wouldn't be so adamant to seek out knowledge about the beings I have become fascinated with if I didn't. I'm not running off the deep end and expecting to get buddy-buddy with whatever's in that forest behind you lot. While you carry on setting the castle on fire, I want to understand the creatures I share the planet with, regardless of the consequences I might face."

Was it really a crime to these people to want to discover for herself? Was it because she was young that they thought she was naïve? If Emily told them she was Muggle-born, would that bring forth a whole new excuse and justification to the table for their benefit? "Oh, she's Muggle-born so of course she's curious because she wants to see fairytales come to life! Just like the wishful thinking child she is." The last one had Emily roll her eyes.

Thinking about her beloved friend was stirring a potent need to protect inside. Scout... A dhampir who indulged in her curiosity the day they met, and they were glued tight together ever since. Not because Scout was a tool for analysis (as if!) but because Emily didn't know what she'd do without a friend as amazing as her. Without her, Emily's life would be devoid of the joy she had found with her. Scout didn't deserve any of this. She would've been just as angry at the group before Emily if she heard what some of them were insinuating. Would they seriously come after innocent folk like her the second fangs were bared? Even if to protect themselves? That alone had Emily flaring. There was more to it than what was written in the textbooks and seen in the context of violence. There had to be.

"On that note... If you want to come after our half-human classmates just because they carry a piece of inhumanity within them, if you dare try to wrongfully paint them as mindless beasts..."

Her voice cracked again. "If you dare try to come after Scout... Then you'll always find me there..."

For the first time, Emily was feeling strong. She had yet to feel sure of herself, but that didn't change what she knew she now had to prove to them. She inhaled another breath of conviction.

"Try to set them--Her aflame. I dare you, because you won't get far. Bet on that."

_{Word Count: 1332}

Stats: Stamina: 7|Evasion: 6|Strength: 6|Wisdom: 8|Arcane Power: 7|Accuracy: 6
Abilities: Non-Human Enthusiast |Cat's Grace

⋖ 23/May/2024 @ late afternoon | OUTFIT | ENGLISH [#715380] | FRENCH [#b654a9] ⋗
INTERACTIONS @Rebecca Lark @Emily Shephard @Astra Norrick | MENTIONING @AngelFyre McCubbin @Pericles Dralt @Raizel Voltrouz
───•─•────────────────────────────────────•─•───

For the most part, Evelynn's oration--of Hogwarts' history and its tendency towards violence and destruction--seemed to have the impact she was hoping it would. The students listened with rapt attention, absorbing the connotations to digest in whatever manner they would. Even Miss Lark seemed to have shrunk back a bit, no doubt cowed by the awareness that her mentor watched her with his beady eye.

Whether or not the presence of an eagle perched upon her compounded the significance of her words wouldn't occur to her. Janus, her large milky barn owl, alighted her shoulder frequently enough to make Perimagus' weight a familiar one. In truth, it was almost easy to forget that her feathered companion was anything more than just a normal bird, except for the way that he bobbed his head along with her speech. Its blurred movement in her peripherals was a bit distracting, presenting a persistent and frankly confusing reminder of his continued presence. Evelynn had never been the touchy-feely sort, reserving even platonic hugs for moments when they were really needed; and bird or not, she had to work to ignore the unsettling stirring in her stomach that the contact elicited.

Upon concluding her thoughts for the time being, her gaze had begun to scan the faces present, quietly assessing the impact of her words. While not one for small-talk, Evelynn was fully aware of how impassioned she could be once set upon a topic of interest. And this one held great interest. Thus it was especially important to pause and allow for mental digestion. What she did not anticipate, however, was redirection.

"If I might direct everybody's attention to something..."

Blinking, the lioness shifted her attention to the speaker with a slight raise of a brow, an expression that only seemed to fix itself ever more perpetually into place as the underclassman waxed on with flowery idealism. As she went on to express her dreams to interact with various beings of questionable morality, Evelynn lifted one arm to brace across her core, serving as anchor to the other arm that lifted to rest the backs of knuckles patiently along her jaw. Pity crept slowly across her features, grey eyes following the movement of the ignorant little child while the rest of her frame remained statuesque. This one was in for a rude awakening. That, or a casket.

She was still chewing on the monologue, carefully considering the gentlest way to correct Miss Shepherd's faulty way of thinking when the others present spoke up. It almost made her smile. If the enemy of one's enemy is a friend, then evidently Miss Norrick and Miss Lark had found common grounds in their mutual disagreement with what Miss Shepherd had tried to articulate. It wasn't just them, either, Voltrouz had also joined the chorus, while Perimagus swiveled his head as though to suggest that the presented argument was backwards in logic.

The confronting girls raised valid concerns. It wasn't just the inhuman. Many of the attacks had been perpetrated by thinking Beings who were not acting on instinct or impulse, but with carefully planned out assaults that weren't a result of a mere misunderstanding. The ministrations of the hags had been complex and Machiavellian, making use of deception and manipulation, with a full understanding of the implications of their deeds. You didn't simply talk your way out of that. Some weren't even Beings at all, but human. And other cases had been causes by creatures with relatively little thought, driven by instinct. Her views, as well-intentioned as they may have been, failed to acknowledge reality.

A low crooning near her ear prompted her to reach up absent-mindedly to run nails through his feathers for soothing head scritches. Then promptly withdrawing them after being reminded by the very different feel that this was not her owl, but rather a human in animal form and that given she was not in the habit of such gestures of affection in other circumstances, to do so now was entirely inappropriate.

Unfortunately, before she could act on the encouragement to address the raised concerns and expand on the topic of Warren's unprompted homicidal ideation, Miss Shepherd spoke up again. Once again, Evelynn almost couldn't help but pity the girl, brows lifting slightly at the whimpering. Almost. Whatever pity she may have held would be short-lived, however. The lioness watched the girl stumbled backwards as though every counter uttered by the rest were physical assaults on her person, driving her back from her isolated position. Tension was obvious in the way she clenched her fists, and the source of the rebuttal sounded more to Evelynn like that of a cornered animal than from any basis in rational thought.

"You seem to misunderstand..." Evelynn uttered quietly, turning towards Miss Shepherd when the girl had finally quieted. "You said we thrive on anger. There are those here--" She gestured to Miss Lark. "--who appear to be so, but it was directed at one she thought to be responsible for the stabbing of her dear friend. Not an unreasonable emotional response. To what 'cowardly assaults' are you referring? The stabbing of a muggleborn by a pureblood human?" She inquired, referring to Finnegan and Athanatos, respectively. "The stabbing of a pureblood by a student under control of a mind-parasite?" She continued, now referring to Pericles having been attacked by Warren and the centipede controlling him.

Slow steps closed the distance between the upper- and lower-classman. "What hate are you talking about? Nobody here has spoken anything other than sentiments of wanting to survive. I am pleased to hear you wish to learn, though. I suggest you listen. If you do truly want to graduate from this school, you would do well to shed this idealistic vision. Optimism is a good thing to hold on to, but not when it blinds you to reality. The reality is that not all creatures would give you the opportunity you seek. Nobody has given any indication of taking the offensive against anyone else. Frankly, the fact that you could have interpreted any of this in such a way is as frightening as it is disgusting. It feeds into an unnecessary counter-hostility and lack of understanding.

"A dhampir that scents blood and has not been sufficiently fed will attack you, never mind a vampire. They have no control over that. I have witnessed it first-hand on many occasions, and the only reason the victimized students who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time kept their throat intact was because of swift intervention of a wand-lightning or similar spell--a harmless spell--to deter the attacker. Did you intend to just stand by and allow that to transpire were you to find yourself on the receiving end?

"While some hags may have genuine good intention to bridge gaps with the rest of wizarding society, many do not. The two covens here employed students as hosts to grow and spread their slugs with the intent to create new hags, to combat each other and gain the upper-hand in their war. They took advantage of the good intentions of students such as yourself and fed on them. Many came very near to losing everything, and some did. Students died. But you would rather we pretend that there are not those whose intentions are, in fact, selfish and evil? That we should not exercise suspicion for the sake of self-preservation?

"And of the Forbidden Forest--" She gestured to the deep woods. "Mosps and doxxies and other pests cannot be reasoned with. In many cases, instinct is the driving force, and there are many creatures in and around these grounds whose only goal is to survive and thrive. Acromantulas will sooner devour you than speak with you. Werewolves on a full moon cannot control themselves if they have not taken the necessary precautions." The nearer she drew to the girl, the lower she dropped her voice. "Do not be so naive. It endangers yourself and those around you."

Upon closing the gap, a hand reached over the girl's shoulder, fingers resting on the trunk of the tree whose bark had been shredded and torn. "What creature do you think made this? Can you identify it? Do you know if it will listen to reason and good intention, or whether its sole drive is to hunt to satiate its hunger? The Forbidden Forest is forbidden for a reason, and harm to self and others is mitigated by following the rules and avoiding it. But there are also other forces at work. Groups plotting to sew chaos and discord, who know exactly what they are doing and whose purpose is to cause harm, and they will do so by any number of means. When the danger invades the grounds and the castle, or when peers lose control due to aspects of their character or by influences outside of their control, only a fool does not arm themselves with the tools and knowledge to fend off attack."