Trial by Fear Main Story Event

Interacting:@Katrina Walker | @Kit Paine | @Scarlett Aden
Mentioning: @Dealla Prince | @Thomas Lestrange | @Piérre Marchonné | @Xailah Alptraum | @Nicholas McCowan | @Alexander Varellion | @Rose Moon | @Alan Vanes | @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood | @Elena Jangleton
Languages: English | French | Italian | Arabic | Russian
Outfit+jeans

Katrina’s uneasiness combined with the nauseating feeling of being covered in what she assumed was blood. It made her stomach turn and a lump to rise in her throat. She crossed her arms around her stomach, hugging—rather, squeezing herself—hoping the pressure might push away the awful feelings. Thankfully, the towel did a good job wiping away most of the blood, all that was left were dark stains on her less colored outfit and little stains in harder to get areas: under her nails, in her hair. One question that rose in Katrina was ‘what was the point?’ cover the participants in blood, then give them something to wipe it off with. There had to be something more? Shouldn’t there be?

The two helpers, Nico and Howard, followed the Caretaker to the tent. With the distance between them, Katrina’s unnatural uneasiness faded. The uneasiness just followed some students, Katrina never really thought too much about it. Well, besides in intense scenarios like this where the slightest premonition could be life or death. She held no grudge against those with the uneasy aura around them, no more than she held a grudge against someone who had a calming aura.

Musings aside, several people had something to say, complaints about the blood, the towels, the whole situation. Katrina stayed quiet, partially because of her turning stomach, and partially because she didn’t really know where she fit in all of this. She was a full human and didn’t have any close relationship with anyone she knew was a non-human, it certainly wasn’t because of any bias, just circumstance. And besides, it wasn’t her place to pry about what race someone was—that was just as insulting as asking someone if they are pure-blood or not. Katrina didn’t have anything meaningful to say, so instead she stayed quiet, trying to calm her raging thoughts and figure out what little she could.

The Caretaker finally reemerged from the tent, serious and pensive. Apparently, the whole towel thing had been another trial. The whole thing was to speak to the discrimination against humans and non-humans. The substance she thought was blood was merely melted blood flavored lollipops—sure, because that’s so much better Katrina’s thought was bitter and sarcastic, but it didn’t translate to her expression. There was a listing of names of people who apparently won the trail. It was arbitrary and Katrina instantly screwed her face up in a sour expression. It wasn’t a hit to her pride, well, it was, but that wasn’t the cause of her reaction. This was a trial that Katrina had already determined was sketchy at best, everything leading up to now had been set up to make the participants wary. Now, because of some arbitrary judgment not shared to an unknowing audience and participants, certain people got tokens for not being discriminant. Katrina hadn’t thought she was being discriminant, she was trying to figure out what the heck was going on, she had every right to be uneasy and it wasn’t like she had launched into an angry speech about how non-humans weren’t allowed or something, she had been her normal self. It shouldn’t be expected for anyone to be nice and happy and talkative to everyone they see, especially in the circumstances they had been presented. Besides, it almost seemed like a throwaway chance for some people lagging behind to get an extra token.

Katrina hid her bitterness besides her initial reaction. The last thing she wanted is for some random person to look at her and think she hated non-humans or something. Others, however, expressed their displeasure far more outwardly than a quick reaction. One of whom, Dealla if Katrina had heard right earlier, instantly lashed out with a comment akin to Katrina’s thoughts, that no one discriminated the Damphirs to begin with. She was so fed up that she handed off her tokens to two of her friends and left. The small part of Katrina heart-set on winning was bitter at this turn of events, what Alan and Pierre done to deserve an extra token? To their credit, Katrina knew both and they were fantastic people as it is but still, it would be upsetting if that caused her to loose.

Henry was next to protest, instead going on a full tyrant about oppression and the discrimination on non-humans. There was a tiny part of Katrina whispering suspicions but frankly she was getting tired of all of her constant overthinking this evening and pushed it aside to deal with later. Katrina felt odd now, out of place almost, she didn’t really belong to any discriminated party, besides muggleborns, but even then she didn’t necessarily have to deal with that every day or anything.

Katrina stayed seated on her towel, arms squeezing tighter around her stomach. Everything was just wrong in so many horrible ways. The questionable morals of the trial, the fact she had been doused in fake blood, the non-human discrimination which Katrina hadn’t even thought would be one of her main problems tonight that was now causing new stress on her consciousness, the fact that the trail wasn’t fun anymore although she still had a chance at winning, and that the one thing left between her and going back to her dorm in peace was a trial of fear which quite frankly didn’t sound too fantastic. Katrina had half a mind to just leave, donate her tokens to Henry to give him a fighting chance and whoever was next closest to her and leave the last trial to the rest of them. But there was still that ever adamant part of her that required her to stay, protect everyone, partially prove that she was capable.

Katrina leaned her head in her hands, face to the ground; she did nothing more; no valiant speech, no powerful action. She just sat there feeling worse and worse surrounded by her suspicions and doubts and newly bloomed headache. After everything was said and done, Katrina would follow the remaining participants to do as the Caretaker had said and jumped in line at the entrance to the test, feeling no better than she had when she was first covered in not-blood.

TLDR; Overthink and feel sick

For Moderation:

Reducio

Action: Line up at the tent

Inventory: Wand, Three tokens

Abilities: Perfectionist [Crit-Fail Zone reduced by 1] | Healing Sage [+25% on all magical healing] | Charmer [-1 acc for all opponents]

Stats: Stamina 9 | Evasion 8 | Strength 3 | Wisdom 11 | Arcane Power 9 | Accuracy 6

Interacting With: her own troubled mind

Mentioning: All The Other Contestants
@Dealla Prince, @Scarlett Aden, @Rose Moon, @Elena Jangleton, @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood, @Henry Knight, @Alexander Varellion, @Alan Vanes, @Xailah Alptraum, @Nicholas McCowan, @Piérre Marchonné, Nico and Howard

Open to Interactions: Please do!

@Kit Paine, @Dealla Prince, @Henry Knight, & @Nico Shymane

No other surprises met the boy, much to his relief. No attack, no uneasy struggle. He took the towel in both hands and with a small smile, carefully cleaned his face (including behind his ears) and washed down his clothes, incanting a swift “Scourgify!” and (hopefully) the stuff on his clothes would also clean. If it didn't, then the towel would also be used to clean the rest of his clothes. Sanity Roll (d10): +2 --> Positive Sanity shift +1

Taking a deep breath, the boy managed to put aside the worries of the past for the time being, watching the dhampir students retreat and then return once more... This time with the adult, Mister Window in tow. Piérre tipped his head curiously, wondering what else was going to happen.

When the man told the students of the clever ruse and what the hot, iron liquid actually was, the boy laughed out loud, his eyes twinkling with unfettered amusement. Why! This was indeed a puckish trick after his very own heart! He smiled broadly, smelling the iron of the blood pops. Now he had to try some, if only to satiate his curiosity and also claim that he had had some. What a turn of events!

But... The boy seemed to be the only one laughing. He glanced around at the others, their stern faces, some infuriated, some concerned... None of them sharing the Britalian's humor. None of them found this funny or symbolic in any way?

The boy's laughter faded away, replaced with a look of deep concern. Had he been out of line? Apparently not too much, for he had received a rather beautiful green token shaped like a pretty little bat. The boy's fingers nervously traced the curves, tucking it into his pocket for safekeeping.

It was all he could do as he witnessed emotional bombs explode right and left.

The girl, the team captain from their earlier failed strategies, was first. Piérre lowered his head, feeling his hair fall into his eyes and his ears slowly pin back as he flinched from shout after shout. In the end, she had decided to quit. In the end, she called these trials foolish and useless for the school. She left. Leaving only eleven left to continue the trial without her.

Piérre opened his mouth, half-imagining another timeline in which he tried to interrupt her stride... To make her rethink and reconsider the options. But... He couldn't. This was ultimately her choice. This was her battle to wage, and to wage alone.

Then Henry took her words and spun them into an even more terrible web.
Words which battered the boy's bones and heart ceaselessly and relentlessly. Without reprieve, without a moment to take a breath. He felt pinpricks in the corner of his eyes, foolishness for thinking that even for a moment this event would be without some element which would even slightly permit peace to permeate every gathered heart.

Uncertainty... Doubt. Fear. So much fear. The trial lived up to its name. Piérre was terrified. Not of the events which had transpired, not of the monsters in the school, not of faux blood or of failed ploys.

Of the deadly, crushing air, the breath coming off of words. This was something that would have sent the boy crumpling to his knees were it not for the legs holding him aloft. His head pinned down, his fists slightly clenching and unflinching at his sides. Sanity Roll (d12): 8 --> Negative Sanity Shift, -1

With a final sucking of air through his gritted teeth, a tear-streaked face lifted towards the others. The air was crushing his lungs, his heart. It threatened to use gravity to force him onto his knees. Already, his knees were violently shaking.

Why do you let them abuse you?

Why do I let them trample me down?

Why can't I tell them they're wrong?

Why can't I put up a fight?

Why... Can't... I...

Speak?

Mouth open... Lips trembling... No sound escaping.

One by one they tumbled. Slow. Pained. Forceful. Destined to fall on deaf ears.

Words.

“And why are we... Doing this?” Choked. Trying to draw the words back even as they came. “Why was this event put in the style it is?”

Eyes flicked about. Searching. Hoping. Hungry for acceptance. Discrimination against non-humans, yes. But... There was an argument to be made that even full-humans were finding themselves in the crosshairs as well. It could be said that everyone was bickering with everyone so much that no person or being was in the right or wrong. It could be said that nobody was a saint here. Nobody was in the right.

“This attempt is better than not taking any action at all. Mister Window sure made us all worry for a minute, didn't he?” His thoughts were slowly spinning out of control. He believed in this trial, trusted the people running it even though he had been shamed and knocked down peg after peg without a moment for pause. He had hoped this would be a peaceful exercise, even despite the albeit a bit unusual twists which had taken place thus far.

It was a prank.

“It's an elaborate joke! Why can't we take a joke?! Are we too wrapped up in ourselves, just like what the trial is intended to prove? Even if it doesn't inspire unity--which I believe it does-- it inspires humility.” He had been just as nervous as everyone else when that reddish liquid had covered him.

He slowly crumpled again, his moxie spent. “I am sorry that these things happen to people. I am sorry that influential minds create these stereotypes. But this is not where anger should be angled. Times like these call for humility, humbleness, and Devil's advocate.”

He was talking more to himself now. “I believe in the trials, if not the methods. But the method.. Be often in the madness.”

Shaking his head, Piérre crossed his arms and shivered before smiling again and wiping away the tears to put on a confident visage. A jester's masque. With a impish twinkle in his eyes, he dashed to the next spot, bouncing on his toes in anticipation.

Stats: Stamina 3 | Strength 3 | Evasion 10 | Wisdom 10 | Accuracy 10 | ArcPower 5
Abilities:
Keen Eye | 25% chance to spot something
Calming Presence | Affecting Student Participants
Inventory:
Yew Wand | 4 Knuts | Some (3) small glass phials* (school supply) | Quick Wit

*One is filled with water

Emotional Status & Persona: Shaken (78%) | Embodying the Wonka
Action: Lining up for the next trial

They hadn't won but that was okay. The brunette didn't even want to know what the shower of red was but if it was supposed to simulate blood, it had done a very excellent job at that as she stood there. It had been a nice little team-work excercise with the torches and whatnot as their attention turned to the caretaker who stepped forward to address the outcome and what was to come next. As his words rang out washing into their ears and several students voiced their protests, Elena simply stared at the adult barely registering what they were saying not belieiving her own ears. It had been a test, something so seemingly simple and minscule like the towels had been a test of their judgement and trust of their fellow peers and the Gryffindor wasn't sure if that was something she should be proud of or not. However, what Elena did know that it was wrong, it was ethically wrong on so many levels and she was not one to stay quiet when such injustice was happening, if you could even call it that.

"So let me get this straight.." The girl piped up folding her arms fixing the man with a glare, the one adult in there who was a member of the Hogwarts stuff that they were supposed to trust and confide in with their safety and well-being while at this school and at the moment, she felt nothing of the sort. "You intentionally did this to bring attention to such a controversial topic and gauge our reactions? What, were you hoping one of us would flip out or something when they appeared?" She wasn't sure what on Merlin he had been trying to prove, bring attention, the caretaker had said and that had certainly had been done though probably not in the manner he was expecting and she wasn't the lone voice of reason in this. It had been a social experiment of sorts if you asked her though the concept behind was it one that she couldn't even bear to fathom. She was all too familiar with the debates and hot topics surrounding non-humans and whatnot and this was not the way to go about this. Their ability to control themselves, the words were even sickening as he continued chattering on.

Elena had heard enough and while she might be not as bold as to storm off as one certain girl had done already, she was certainly going to make her voice heard. "You portrayed them and this trial in such a manner that you thought that'd make us have second thoughts." It wasn't a suggestion, it was a comment and she wasn't quite done yet. "If you really wanted to know our honest opinions and whatnot, all the supposed blood and whatnot would not be necessary. With all due respect to you, professor, you really dropped the ball on this one." With that, the brunette shut up before he decided to stick them all with detentions or something following whoever else to the tent in preparation for the third trial. She was still teeming with anger, the audacity that someone else would assume they would behave different because other people were different, the girl had always been a kind soul, never judged anyone, it was a few basic values she held dear and for anyone to call that into question offended her greatly more than anything else.

The announcement of the second trial irritated Nicholas. It was a load of crap, what kind of game was getting a towel? Especially when he wasn't even dirty. Yet, he had failed. The boy grit his teeth, the arbitrary nature of the competition irritating him greatly. He was losing, and that annoyed him more than anything. Still, he lived for the chance to compete, and there would be an opportunity to take more tokens shortly. The Trial by Fang as it had been called was hardly a trial at all but rather a chance to reward students for absolutely nothing. What kind of fear or spell-casting did that prove? Irritated, the boy moved from his position, scowling as he walked toward the larger group.

But many of the other competitors seemed upset by the nature of the trial for entirely different reasons. It was not the sticky red liquid nor was it the fact that the trial itself was ludicrous, but the alleged indignity in the fact that the two students who had been tasked with handing out towels were themselves dhampirs. Apparently, the trial itself was somehow a tool in oppression. Nicholas agreed that the trial itself was hardly high brow nor was it likely to do anything to curb any form of discriminatory thought, but the sheer indignation that almost every other competitor seemed to be experiencing didn't make sense to the first year. It was a game, wasn't it? Had they really expected some sort of deep reproach to social issues? There was anger and frustration abound, and one of the Ravenclaw girls stormed off, after more than a few choice words. It was dramatic. Overly so.

Henry, too, was aghast. His words expanding upon those of the other girl, passionate and filled with a sort of rage that could not be masked. Nicholas listened intently, the speech was interesting after all, and he could not help but pick up on a few litterings of pronouns wherein he himself was a party throughout the older boy's speech. Was he himself non-human? Nicholas hadn't thought so, but he could hardly bring himself to care one way or another. The truth of the matter was that the two dhampirs, whilst scary, were at least willing participants and the reaction to what had been a stupid little game hardly seemed warranted.

The quidditch player whose name Nicholas had briefly forgotten seemed to take some umbrance with the reaction of the other students, although he seemed to believe in the ideals behind the trials. His words filled with noble intentions, and they rung true to Nicholas at least to a certain degree, in spite of the obvious stress behind them.

But with the words of one of the other Gryffindor upperclassmen, Nicholas realised that perhaps his own opinion was the minority. She too, seemed upset with the nature of the trial.

Nicholas pondered for a moment whether he should continue to hold his tongue, there was little to gain from speaking up after all. Before, finally, he threw caution to the wind and spoke.

"Can you hear yourselves?" He asked, his voice breaking slightly in nervousness before he quelled it, "Who the hell cares? It's a game."

The first year ran a hand through his hair, and found himself somewhat surprised when he felt an odd liquid upon his hand. He brought the same hand before his eyes and was surprised to find that there was fake blood upon it, meaning that some was certainly spread throughout his brown locks. Perhaps he should have taken a towel. Not that it mattered now, it wasn't real blood and he could always bathe after the competition. He brushed the hand against his clothes as he spoke, smearing red on his pants.

"Did you really expect a school competition to end discrimination? Get off your high horses and play to win, yeah?" The words were somewhat more confident now, after all, he may not have been winning the competition but his fear of failing to even hold his own was long lost.

His words spoken, the boy flung a hand lazily through the air as if dismissing the entire conversation before moving off toward the last tent. He did not mean any of the other participants' eyes as he did so, and he doubt he could have met Henry's, he couldn't bare to see what the other boy thought of him.

Stats: STA: 7 | EVA: 6 | STR: 8 | WIS: 6 | ARC: 4 | ACC: 4
Abilities: Foulplay
Action: Getting in line for the next stage
Interacting with Trial Participants
Open to Interactions

Permission to hug Alex was given in advance.
@Alexander Varellion @Ileen Knight

outfit
speech #bf0040
action talk, line up
abilities prodigal charms leaner, fearless
stats stamina 7 | evasion 6 | accuracy 8 | strength 6 | wisdom 6 | arcane power 9
inventory fanged frisbee + wand

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@Rose Moon @Henry Knight @Katrina Walker @Piérre Marchonne
[font=times new roman]T[/font]he blood - no, the ketchup - was starting to get sticky. It was uncomfortable and Scarlett hated it, scrubbing ferociously at her skin to get the little droplets off. Thankfully she hadn't been drenched in the blood - the ketchup - like some others did, but that didn't mean she had escaped the stuff. The caretaker had then answered Alan and Dealla's enquiries, saying that cleaning spells had been cast on the towels. Scarlett stopped scrubbing quite so hard. Once she had reached satisfaction and all of the droplets of ketchup - she had convinced herself by now - had been wiped off, Scarlett clutched her towel, awaiting the next piece of information, or a new instruction.

The organisers went to discuss with the volunteers, which piqued Scarlett's curiosity slightly. Why would they need to discuss with the ones who had handed out towels? Were they part of the next trial or something? And Scarlett's questions were answered. The caretaker took to the stage, beginning his speech with things about the Headliner incident, and the notorious dhampir article that had cited a school-wide protest. Scarlett hadn't even been working on the Headliner at the time, but as one of the few Headliner members here, she still pursed her lips at the thought of the discriminative piece. She had never met a dhampir before, but T.Ruth had made them out to be so inhuman. But if they were really so monstrous, why would Hogwarts let them attend?

Scarlett disagreed with T.Ruth. She knew the injustice that non-humans faced - her experience came from her friendship with Henry, who was a werewolf. But then again, not all non-humans were the same. So she still did disagree with the discrimination against dhampirs and T.Ruth themself...for now.

The caretaker then went and explained about how the ketchup was actually blood-flavoured lollipops, melted. He explained why the two volunteers were actually dhampirs and had chosen to participate in the trial to raise awareness about non-human discrimination. He told the twelve, and the audience, why the second trial had been hidden, to see and to test if you could trust your fellow students.

It was stupid. It did nothing. Scarlett got a token and all she had done was say 'Thanks' to Nico. Rewarding others for basic human decency. Withholding rewards from others for being freaked out by what smelt, felt, looked and even tasted like blood.

Just because Scarlett wasn't scared of blood, she got a token? This was nothing to do with dhampirs, people being scared or unnerved. It was to do with the fact that they had what seemed like blood on their skin. It did absolutely nothing to 'raise awareness'. Piérre even called it a prank - not an odd attempt at school unity, but a prank. Scarlett, as a prankster, had to disagree.

"I don't think it's a joke Piérre," said Scarlett. "They wouldn't reward us for our month of dedicated homework-doing with a prank, no matter how cool it would be. But yes-" Scarlett had to grin at his next words, which were more mumbled to himself. "Be often in the madness." She had to borrow that for later.

Anyway, Dealla was the first to go. She went off with quite a bang, beginning with a rant that voiced most people's opinions before handing her tokens to others. Scarlett's competitive side twanged in bitterness at this, but the sheer incredulity of Dealla's actions overcame it. Dealla had been first in points for all of Hogwarts in March, beating Scarlett by nine, and now she was throwing away all of her hard work and leaving? Scarlett wouldn't stop her, but it was...impulsive. Scarlett admired her ability to speak up but just - Merlin.

And then there was Henry. Scarlett had almost forgotten about his presence because she had so pointedly ignored her getting left out of his private conversations to Rose and Katrina, but once he started his relentless tirade, Scarlett remembered that he was a werewolf. These -probably human - organisers were lecturing a werewolf about discrimination against non-humans? Now that was just plain stupid. It wasn't their fault, the organisers, that no one except her and a few others knew of Henry's lycanthropy but it was so unknowingly silly that Scarlett couldn't help laugh incredulously, maniacally even. Others would think she was being borderline rude, laughing just before Henry's outburst. But Henry would know. He had to.

Scarlett lined up as Henry approached her, obviously because she was the only one who knew. Oh now he wants to talk, thought Scarlett bitterly. Cause I'm the only one he can talk to. The back-up option. The one to go to only if everyone else is a no-go. Nevertheless, she didn't ignore him, which was something. She did, however, manage to sneak some toxicity into her voice. "It wasn't exactly subtle," she snarked. "But there's no evidence. People are going to be suspicious but they hopefully won't think about it too much, because you don't exactly look like a dhampir, which is the only non-human race that people care about at the moment."

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Interacting with: @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood

Actions: Leaving the thread unless stopped


Abilities:
Evasive Maneuvers
Monster Hunter (non-human enthusiast)

Stats:
Stamina: 7
Evasion: 9
Strength: 3
Wisdom: 8
Arc Power: 6
Accuracy: 8
Total: 41

Inventory:
-Locksmith's knife
-Small book/journal kept in robes. Hidden in inner pocket of robes.
-Roll of wizard tight. Hidden in other inner pocket
- Cherry Wood wand

An extension has been requested by one of the participants. If you have not posted, you have an additional 24 hours to do so.

Scarlett didn't answer Rose's question about if she was good, but she didn't seem horrible or anything. But this was Scarlett Aden, after all. She would be alright, no matter what happened to her. She would be alright, Rose told herself. Her fellow redhead wasn't usually one to get all sappy and personal or anything, so Rose let it slide. Scarlett asked her about whether Rose was playing to win, or for fun. "Uhm... a little bit of both? But mostly the reason I'm here is to figure out what this is. It would be great to win, and I'm having a little fun, but mostly, I... want to understand. You know?" She was pretty sure that Scarlett had no idea what she was saying, or what she meant to say. She was probably not making sense at all.

But that was mostly the reason she was here. She really did want to win, and was glad that she was kind of in the lead now. She wasn't having a lot of fun, but at least she was having a little bit of fun. She just... really wanted to know why she was here. What was going to happen? How was this going to work out?

She gave a smile to Scarlett when she encouraged her about trying her best. "Thanks." She had given it her all, but she still didn't feel like she had even done anything for her team. She had just been carried by them, and she hated it. But she appreciated Scarlett's words anyway.

Since Henry had tossed the towel back to her, Rose held it in her hands, gripping it tightly.

The Caretaker started talking, telling them that the towels did, in fact, magically clean the... substance on them. Rose nodded, murmuring under her breath, "Huh. Handy." This made her trust in the Caretaker and the staff rise a little bit. They were going to take care of her. Right? Everything would be okay as long as the staff was here. Rose squinted a little as Mr. Paine disappeared into the tent with the volunteers, curious.

He came out, and Rose turned her attention to him. She turned her head on its side. She had heard about the thing with T. Ruth, but that was before she had started writing for the headliner. She was sure, at the backlash of the article, that it wouldn't happen again. Anyway, she thought the recognition of dhamphirs and other non-humans were beneficial, but... not in the way that it was being done. T. Ruth should not have accused dhamphirs of being dangerous to Hogwarts students. No- what? It just made no sense at all. When had a dhamphir ever attacked a Hogwarts student? Although dhamphirs were technically only part-human, inside, they were just as human as everybody else was. They still had emotions, feelings, and morals. There was no reason to treat them any different than anybody else.

When the two volunteers [Nico and Howard] were introduced, Rose gave each of them a small, but friendly, wave, if they looked her way. She kept the wave small for the sole reason that she didn't want to attract attention to herself.

Apparently the substance was not blood, in fact. It was blood-flavored lollipops, in a liquid form. Ah. Much better than blood. It was a form of... deception. A way to do the trial without actually putting anybody in danger, which was smart. At least the "blood" had not come from anybody... or anything. It was fake.

So... why were they being told all of this?

Ah. So it was about trust. About trust of their fellow students. Rose glanced to Scarlett as their names were called, with a smile. She went forward, taking a cool bat token from Thomas Lestrange, and giving him a small, friendly nod. She stuck by Scarlett after that, not wanting the girl to feel alone.

Outrage seemed to erupt with the people around her. The only person who didn't have something to say (so far), was Katrina. She stayed quiet. Dealla even left, giving her tokens to her friends.

Henry gave a much, much longer response. It was almost a rant. Rose knew about him being a werewolf. He had told her a little under two months ago. Maybe this was a combination of his frustration at the nature of the trial, as well as frustration at not winning the trial. Although he was not a very competitive person, Rose was sure that Henry was not happy that he was not winning, and feeling that this was all rigged against him. She felt bad for him. But Henry could hold his own. He would be okay. Right?

Some of what he said hurt, though. He claimed that anybody who was fully human had an easy life. Okay, so maybe he didn't use the same words, but that was what was heavily implied. Just because Rose was human didn't mean that she didn't have to fight for everything that she had- relationships, grades, opportunities. Just because Henry was a werewolf didn't mean that he was automatically so much deeper in pain than everybody else. She wasn't saying that werewolves' lives weren't hard. But that didn't mean that everybody else's life wasn't hard, too. And how could he assume that nobody there wasn't full human? How would he know?

She wasn't mad at him. She knew he most likely wasn't thinking straight, and he would never say anything like that in another circumstance, or if he kept her in mind. Right?

Pierre voiced that his opinions were somewhere in the middle, claiming that this was all just a prank. Scarlett gently (or as gentle as Scarlett Aden can get), told him that she didn't think so. Elena spoke up and respectfully disagreed with the Caretaker's trial. Nicholas spoke up, reminding everybody (in a little bit blunter manner than Rose would have preferred), that this was only a game. The pale girl told everybody that she didn't like this at all, hugged the blonde boy, and then the blonde left as well. These trials were diminishing in popularity.

Rose knew everybody here was right. But they weren't all entirely right, of course. Every one of them had a little flaw that lessened the rightness of their words. It probably didn't help that they were all still in shock.

It was just all... wrong. Something about this was wrong. She was so confused- what was wrong about it? Was it the trials and the Caretaker, or was it the students around her?

She closed her eyes for a little longer than a blink should have been, not noticing Henry and Scarlett talking. Opening her eyes, she took a deep breath. She would have to process this later, as they were lining up now.

Her eyes noticed Nicholas. He hadn't accepted a towel and was now quite dirty. She looked down at the towel she had been fidgeting with, smoothing it out a little. She glanced at Scarlett and Henry, noticing Scarlett was leaning over and whispering to him. No use telling them she'd be right back, right? She made her way over to Nicholas and handed him the towel, saying softly, "I only used it a little bit. Looks like you need it more than I do." She smiled a little at him. Not really giving him the chance to give it back (unless he threw it at her, of course).

Rose also noticed Katrina. She went over to the girl, who was still sitting on the ground, and offered her hand to the third year. If she accepted it, Rose would help her up and line up with the rest of the remaining trial members, letting whoever ended up standing next to her do so.

For Moderation-

Action: Thinking, observing, giving towel to Nicholas, helping Kat up if allowed, lining up

All places of interaction have the name bolded
Inventory: Wand, 3 tokens
Stats:
Stamina- 6 | Evasion- 8 | Strength- 5 | Wisdom- 9 | ArcPower- 7 | Accuracy- 5
Abilities:
Keen Eye | Lovely Creature